BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 Rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Sunday morning.
Read: Rough seas continue at area beaches, cloudy skies keep temps mild
On board was ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1, the first privately-led Japanese mission to land on the moon.
Deployment of ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1 confirmed pic.twitter.com/9R3Uw2qceS
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 11, 2022
The Japanese robotic moon lander and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Lunar Flashlight will search out signs of ice hidden in craters on the moon.
Read: Man charged in bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland is in US custody
It will take nearly five months for the lunar lander and its experiments to get to the moon because the spacecraft was designed to use less fuel.
Read: 12-year-old arrested for having a loaded firearm at school, deputies say
A second lunar landing by the private company is planned for 2024 and a third in 2025.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on Landing Zone 2 pic.twitter.com/0viaOjqKR1
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 11, 2022
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2022 Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/SBQARGRDYJHEFDUQU4KLKVILHM.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/6ZKXHL2YX5BZFOPE5PCYCBB7BU.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/62ORZJ33S5DG7L5IR67H5PBQK4.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/KJRKTMUJ3ZHWPGSC2KVSUMIU2E.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/KSPO77UB7ZGHRHPHFTKMG2WHNA.jpeg)