The Hakuto-R, which successfully entered lunar orbit a few days ago, was designed by Tokyo-based private space company “ispace”.
The firm aims to be the first private venture to successfully land on the lunar surface.
In the post shared by the company on its official Twitter account, there was a close-up photo of the crater surface of the Moon glowing in the depths of space.
“More stunning landscapes to come!”
The post also reads, “Hello from lunar orbit! After last week’s successful lunar orbital entry maneuver, Hakuto-R captured this view of the Moon with a mainframe mounted camera. More stunning views to come!” ‘ statements were made.
The spacecraft is expected to land on the Moon’s surface in the near future.
The spacecraft was launched on December 11 with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carrying cargo to the Moon.
After three months of space travel, Hakuto-R maneuvered and entered lunar orbit on March 21. The spacecraft is currently in a stable orbit around the Moon.
ispace officials reported that Hakuto-R will attempt to land on the Moon in late April. However, it was reported that the exact landing date has not been determined yet.
If the Hakuto-R succeeds in landing on the Moon’s surface, it will be the first commercial vehicle to do so.
In 2019, Israel’s privately owned vehicle, Beresheet, also tried to land on the Moon, but failed to hit the surface.