NASA’s LRO Views ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Moon Lander Impact Site

On June 11, NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) captured photos of the site where the ispace Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (RESILIENCE) lunar lander experienced a hard landing on June 5, 2025, UTC. RESILIENCE was launched on Jan. 15 on a privately funded spacecraft. LRO’s right Narrow Angle Camera (one in a suite […]

Jun 20, 2025 - 18:16
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NASA’s LRO Views ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Moon Lander Impact Site

On June 11, NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) captured photos of the site where the ispace Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (RESILIENCE) lunar lander experienced a hard landing on June 5, 2025, UTC.

A black and white image of the surface of the Moon taken from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing : HAKUTO-R Mission 2 lunar lander impact site, a dark smudge surrounded by a subtle bright halo. A white arrow points to the site.
RESILIENCE lunar lander impact site, as seen by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on June 11, 2025. The lander created a dark smudge surrounded by a subtle bright halo.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.

RESILIENCE was launched on Jan. 15 on a privately funded spacecraft.

LRO’s right Narrow Angle Camera (one in a suite of cameras known as LROC) captured the images featured here from about 50 miles above the surface of Mare Frigoris, a volcanic region interspersed with large-scale faults known as wrinkle ridges.

The dark smudge visible above the arrow in the photo formed as the vehicle impacted the surface, kicking up regolith — the rock and dust that make up Moon “soil.” The faint bright halo encircling the site resulted from low-angle regolith particles scouring the delicate surface.

Gif of black and white images of the surface of the Moon taken from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing before and after the HAKUTO-R Mission 2 lunar lander impact. The second image shows  a dark smudge surrounded by a subtle bright halo.
This animation shows the RESILIENCE site before and after the impact. In the image, north is up. Looking from west to east, or left to right, the area pictured covers 2 miles.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University. 

LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.

More on this story from Arizona State University’s LRO Camera website

Media Contact
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov

Lonnie Shekhtman
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
lonnie.shekhtman@nasa.gov

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Last Updated
Jun 20, 2025
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Madison Olson
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