Japan's 1st moon lander probe in jeopardy after launch

Tiny spacecraft's location unclear due to communication trouble

20221117N Japan lunar probe

A promotional illustration of Japan's OMOTENASHI lunar probe. (Image courtesy of JAXA)

RYOSUKE MATSUZOE, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- The Japanese spacecraft intended as the country's first lunar lander has been plagued by communications problems since soon after its launch on Wednesday as part of NASA's Artemis 1, putting the unmanned mission in jeopardy.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is currently unable to confirm the location of the craft, named OMOTENASHI, or other details about its status.

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