Sad to hear this since I think this was the lander containing the Moonhouse art project. I would have loved to see the little red cottage on the moon with the earth as it's backdrop.

I know it didn't exactly serve any scientific purpose but an image like that could have been very inspirational to a lot of people.

Daydream: NASA adds a classic-looking lunar lander game to their web site. Except this one has 1.4 second delays in both directions - instrument readings and controls. And repeatedly winning the game unlocks an application for a part-time Remote Lunar Probe Pilot job.

For reference, iSpace is a public company that could IPO with no record of success or profit. While I heard lots of optimism for their next try, I didn't see where it came from and now we know.

It's an example that comes up when discussing plans to make it harder to IPO and I'm hopeful things will change to make the JP market generally more attractive. For space activities, nothing wrong with chasing dreams but it really needs to be kept private IMO - there's plenty of private capital out there. The price bump before the launch and after hours collapse after the news looks more like a rug pull than anything.

How was this done 70 years ago but it so hard now? Was it a ruse back then?