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Japan's ispace says moon lander unexpectedly accelerated and likely crashed

Apr 27 (Tempo) - Japan's ispace inc said its attempt to make the first private moon landing had failed after losing contact with its Hakuto-R Mission 1 (M1) lander when it unexpectedly accelerated and probably crashed on the lunar surface.

The startup said it was possible that as the lander approached the moon, its altitude measurement system had miscalculated the distance to the surface.

"It apparently went into a free-fall towards the surface as it was running out of fuel to fire up its thrusters," Chief Technology Officer Ryo Ujiie told a news conference on Wednesday, April 26.

It was the second setback for commercial space development in a week after SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded spectacularly minutes after soaring off its launch pad. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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From April 1st, a new regulation took effect across Osaka Prefecture requiring all restaurants with a customer seating area larger than 30 square meters to become entirely smoke-free indoors—unless they install a designated smoking room. Establishments violating the rule face fines of up to 50,000 yen, while customers may be fined up to 30,000 yen.

The Imperial Household Agency launched an official YouTube channel on April 1st to introduce the activities of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.

Japan's new fiscal year began on April 1st, with companies across the country holding entrance ceremonies to welcome new employees.

The Japanese government has released an updated damage forecast for a potential Nankai Trough megaquake, estimating that up to 298,000 people could die in the worst-case scenario. This projection reflects a slight reduction from the previous estimate of 332,000 deaths made 13 years ago.

The Japan Meteorological Agency announced on March 30th that cherry blossoms (Somei-Yoshino) in central Tokyo have reached full bloom, one day earlier than the historical average and five days earlier than last year.

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A museum dedicated to rockets and space has opened in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, home to Japan's first private rocket launch site.

The Japanese government has released an updated damage forecast for a potential Nankai Trough megaquake, estimating that up to 298,000 people could die in the worst-case scenario. This projection reflects a slight reduction from the previous estimate of 332,000 deaths made 13 years ago.

A rare pure white snow crab is now on display at Kinosaki Marine World in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture.

Infectious gastroenteritis cases are spreading rapidly across Japan, with the number of patients in March reaching the highest level in the past ten years for this time of year.

The Japanese government on March 21st released a report outlining countermeasures for volcanic ash in the event of a Mount Fuji eruption, including a four-stage evacuation plan based on ashfall volume.

A new facility for the research and production of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has been completed in Osaka's Nakanoshima district and was unveiled to the press on March 19th.

Chubu Electric Power has begun dismantling the reactor at Unit 2 of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Monday. This marks the first time a commercial nuclear reactor is being dismantled in Japan.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying astronaut Takuya Onishi, 49, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and three others arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on March 16th at around 12:00 a.m. (Japan time: March 16th at around 1:00 p.m.), completing a journey of approximately 29 hours since launch.