Crash of private Japanese moon lander blamed on software, last-minute location switch

Software does exactly what it is told, this isn't software error it's human error.

Attribution as to cause VERY difficult given there's no actual physical evidence to exam.

No matter what the cause or causes, it's Back to the Drawing Board!

Seriously, programming for one perfect landing??? Landers have crashed everywhere, all over our solar system, again and again. It was traveling approximately, according to the article, at over 200 mph. That's the landing approach speed of a Boeing passenger jet. What's the rush? Maybe it should have been 15 mph so the "software" wouldn't stay confused and have time to make a course correct and go on to a secondary landing site. All this is not rocket science but just good judgement...

@konjo4u:

"We can put money on the moon. But we do not have a debt ceiling today."

No money was sent to the moon, it was spent on salaries down here on Earth.

Software? What was it? Vista?

Its so frustrating when new generations inventing the wheel over and over again and making a progress largely based on their own mistakes.

Japanese software,an oxymoron.

I didn't read anywhere that the software was made in Japan, or by Japanese employees. It is a global company.

Japanese software,an oxymoron.

China used its own rocket to land a rover which is still active on the surface of the Moon. China has also successfully completed a Moon sample return mission. Japan appears to be way behind.

The Japanese space program should consider how to retrieve such lost equipment and "space junk" . . . .?

damned software! doing as it pleases......

That’s not so very much plausible, because others landed successfully decades ago...

Got proof? Show me the original tapes.

That’s not so very much plausible, because others landed successfully decades ago when there was no software available at all and still regardless of any moon terrain considerations. It’s surely more a row of physical (design, construction) errors that’s responsible. Have you seen the whole thing before the launch, with those four thin legs and ignoring any gravity center calculations? Such a completely wrongly designed and constructed thing couldn’t even land here on Earth under ideal conditions.

We can put money on the moon. But we do not have a debt ceiling today.