Tokyo company aims to be 1st business to put lander on moon

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

A Japanese company is about to attempt what no other private business has done: land on the moon. Tokyo’s ispace company put its own spacecraft into orbit around the moon a month ago. On Tuesday, flight controllers will direct the craft to descend from lunar orbit and land. The 7-foot lander is carrying a mini lunar rover for the United Arab Emirates, as well as a toylike robot from Japan designed to roll around in the moon dust. The spacecraft took a long, roundabout route to the moon following its December launch, beaming back photos of Earth.