Japan Moon lander begins ‘power descent sequence’: space agency

Japan’s “Moon Sniper” lander began its “power descent sequence” early Saturday towards the lunar surface, space agency JAXA said.

The probe was set to descend at around 1,700 metres (5,575 feet) per second, some seven times faster than a passenger jet, in “20 minutes of terror”, Osamu Mori, a professor at JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronomical Research said.