Swedish Moon House Likely Destroyed in Failed Lunar Landing

The Swedish artist Mikael Genberg's little red cottage appears to have been destroyed during the landing attempt on the moon. The Japanese space company Ispace has lost contact with the lander.

» Published: June 06 2025 at 10:37

Swedish Moon House Likely Destroyed in Failed Lunar Landing
Photo: Ispace via AP/TT

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The probe Resilience, with the mini house on board, went in for landing on the moon on Thursday evening Swedish time. But with only a few minutes left of the journey, contact was broken.

In an update on Friday, Ispace writes that it seems that the landing engine started as planned at a height of 20 kilometers. But the height measurement via laser malfunctioned, so the conclusion is that the engine still did not get the speed down sufficiently. "Based on these circumstances, it is now assumed that the lander probably had a hard landing on the moon's surface", writes Ispace.

Genberg's house, a miniature copy of a classic red cottage with white knots, was an art project to place the first building in history on the moon's surface.

It has gone to hell. It seems to have gone to hell. So damn annoying, but we do not know one hundred percent, said Genberg to Aftonbladet late on Thursday.

How destroyed Resilience and its cargo will remain unclear for the foreseeable future. Ispace states that they have no hope of re-establishing contact with the probe, but consider the mission as completed.

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By TTTranslated and adapted by Sweden Herald
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