A private lunar lander from Japan crashed while attempting a touchdown Friday, the latest casualty in the commercial rush to the moon.

By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese company ispace said its uncrewed moon lander likely crashed onto the moon's surface during its lunar touchdown attempt on Friday, marking another failure two years after its unsuccessful inaugural mission.

The failed lunar mission follows ispace’s first attempt in 2023, which also ended with a bang. That craft, the Hakuto-R lunar lander, free-fell out of the sky for 5 kilometers before smashing into the lunar surface after onboard sensors miscalculated its altitude.