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Days before Japan’s Hakuto-R lunar lander apparently crashed into the moon’s surface (opens in new tab) on Tuesday (April 25), it snapped a truly gorgeous picture of our planet. The image, which is reminiscent of Apollo 8’s iconic “Earthrise” (opens in new tab) photo, shows our planet sitting on top of the lunar horizon like a perfect blue marble. The moon’s shadow can be seen passing over Australia, which was experiencing a total solar eclipse at the time (April 20).

Hakuto-R launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of Tokyo-based private space company ispace’s Mission 1 last December. If it had been successful, it would have represented the first commercial craft to touch down on the moon. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards. 

Earlier this week, Hakuto-R made its final approach toward the lunar surface. It had traveled 879,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers) to reach its position in orbit around the moon. But as the craft began its 60-mile (100 km) descent, ground controllers unexpectedly lost contact with it, The Washington Post reported (opens in new tab) . After several frantic minutes, mission controllers concluded that the spacecraft had not landed as intended.

Japan’s private Hakuto-R lunar lander snapped this image of an ‘Earthrise’ shortly before losing contact with mission control. (Image credit: ispace)

“We have to assume we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface,” Takeshi Hakamada, ispace’s founder and CEO, said during the live broadcast. Later analysis revealed that Hakuto-R likely ran out of propellant to slow the descent of the spacecraft as it approached the ground. related stories—China discovers rare lunar crystal and nuclear power source on near side of the moon

—China’s Mars rover may be dead in the dust, new NASA images reveal

—Water on Mars may have flowed for a billion years longer than thought

Hakuto-R is not the first private space venture to crash-land on the moon. In 2019, the Beresheet probe, a joint venture between Israeli company SpaceIL and Israeli Aerospace Industries, slammed into the lunar surface when a gyroscope failed during its braking procedure (though the probe may still have inadvertently delivered the first tardigrades to the moon). To date, only probes built by government agencies representing the United States, Russia and China have completed “soft” landings on the moon.

Despite its fate, Hakuto-R delivered some of the most spectacular images ever taken in lunar orbit, and its approach will provide valuable data for future missions. And there will be many — India, Russia and SpaceX have lunar trips scheduled for later this year, and  ispace is planning to launch two more moon missions — one in 2024 and one in 2025. 

“We have already achieved so many things during this Mission 1,” Hakamada said during the Haruto-R webcast. Later, he added in a statement, “We will keep moving forward.”

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Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

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Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, like all football coaches, wants his players to show up on time, work hard and play their best.

Oh, and another thing: Don’t dance on TikTok.

“They’re going to be on it, so I’m not banning them from it,” he said Monday. “I’m just banning them from dancing on it. It’s like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever, and you’re in there in your tights dancing on TikTok, ain’t quite the image of our program that I want.”

Making TikTok dance videos is a popular activity among high school- and college-age users of the social media platform. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, Boise State star Ashton Jeanty and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola are among college football players who have posted dance videos.

Rodriguez is beginning his second stint as Mountaineers coach. He said he has talked to his players about the tendency in society to emphasize the individual rather than the team and that banning TikTok dancing is something he can do to put the focus where he thinks it belongs.

“I’m allowed to do that. I can have rules,” he said. “Twenty years from now, if they want to be sitting in their pajamas in the basement eating Cheetos and watching TikTok or whatever the hell, they can go at it, smoking cannabis, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

As for now, he said: “I hope our focus can be on winning football games. How about let’s win the football game and not worry about winning the TikTok?”

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Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

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Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

LOS ANGELES — Mike Battle, an All-American defensive back and a member of USC‘s 1967 national championship team who later played two seasons for the New York Jets, has died. He was 78.

He died of natural causes on March 6 in Nellysford, Virginia, the school said Tuesday.

In 1967, Battle led a USC defense that allowed only 87 points all season. The Trojans were 26-6-1 and won three conference titles during his three-year career. Battle played in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 Rose Bowl games, all won by the Trojans.

Battle was USC’s annual punt return leader in each of his three seasons and still owns the school record for most punts returned in a season. He was the NCAA statistical champion in 1967, when he had 49 returns for 608 yards, a 12.4-yard average. He also holds the school mark for most punts returned, with 99 during his three years.

He was chosen in the 12th round of the 1969 NFL draft by the Jets and played for two seasons in 1969 and 1970.

Battle appeared in the 1970 film “C.C. and Company,” a biker film starring Jets teammate Joe Namath and actor Ann-Margret.

He is survived by his wife Laura and children Christian Michael, Hunter, Frank, Michael, Kathleen, Murphy and Annie.

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Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

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Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will be sidelined for a week with a facial injury but avoided a fracture.

General manager Jim Nill said Tuesday that Hintz has to keep his heart rate down for 5-7 days to avoid pressure or swelling.

Hintz, 28, was struck in the face by a puck midway through the second period in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Edmonton. He did not return.

Hintz is tied for second on the Stars in goals (25) and is fourth in points (52) through 59 games this season.

He has 362 points (172 goals, 190 assists) in 451 career games in seven NHL seasons. Dallas drafted him in the second round in 2015.

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