A Japanese venture firm says it has been unable to establish communication with its unmanned spacecraft that attempted to land on the moon early Wednesday, Japan Time.

If the mission is successful, it will be the world's first commercial lunar landing.

The lunar lander, developed by ispace, lifted off in December on a rocket from US firm SpaceX. It made its way toward the moon, using the sun's gravity.

The craft had entered into orbit about 100 kilometers above the moon on April 13, and started its descent at around 12:40 a.m., on Wednesday, Japan Time.

The lander ejected gas to slow down and adjusted its position for a gradual descent to the moon's surface.

The probe was meant to land near a crater in the moon's northern hemisphere at around 1:40 a.m.

But ispace announced that it has not been able to communicate with the craft after the scheduled landing time.

The venture firm says it is working to confirm the current status of the lander.

The spacecraft was supposed to capture images of the moon's surface after touching down.

The lander was carrying a small rover developed by a team that includes the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The rover was scheduled to conduct a lunar exploration while traveling on the moon's surface.