Tokyo company loses contact with moon lander in likely crash

Communications ceased as the lander descended the final 33 feet , traveling around 16 mph . Flight controllers peered at their screens in Tokyo, expressionless, as minutes went by with no word from the lander, which is presumed to have crashed.

If all had gone well, his company would have been the first private business to pull off a lunar landing. Hakamada vowed to try again, saying a second moonshot is already in the works for next year, regardless of Wednesday's outcome. Named Hakuto, Japanese for white rabbit, the spacecraft had targeted Atlas crater in the northeastern section of the moon's near side, more than 50 miles across and just over 1 mile deep.

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