newsnet_227603_98915b.jpg|A model of the lander by 'ispace' is pictured at a venue to monitor its landing on the moon, in Tokyo, Japan [Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters]
A Japanese company has lost contact with its spacecraft moments before touchdown on the moon, saying the mission had apparently failed.
"We lost the communication, so we have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface," ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said on a company livestream on Tuesday, as mission control engineers in Tokyo continued to try to regain contact with the lander.