Watch: Japanese start-up ispace prepares for 2nd lunar landing attempt
What's the story
Japanese start-up ispace is gearing up for its second attempt at a controlled landing on the Moon.
The uncrewed spacecraft mission will take place on Friday, two years after the company's first attempt ended in failure.
If successful, ispace will become the first non-US company to achieve this feat.
The mission comes as part of an international race toward lunar exploration, with China and India also conducting state-run missions.
Mission details
Resilience follows in Blue Ghost's footsteps
The first lunar lander from ispace crashed onto the Moon's surface in April 2023 due to a software issue that misjudged its altitude during descent over rugged terrain.
The second lander, dubbed Resilience, was launched in January aboard a SpaceX rocket with Firefly's Blue Ghost lander. Blue Ghost took a faster route and landed in March.
Now, Resilience orbits 100km above the lunar surface carrying a micro rover, named Tenacious, developed by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary, and payloads worth $16 million.
Plans
NASA to buy lunar resources from ispace
Resilience will land on Mare Frigoris, a lunar sea near the Moon's north pole, on June 6 at 4:17am Japan time (12:47am IST).
Mare Frigoris is seen as a geologically stable region and provides safe landing conditions for robotic missions.
The 2.3-meter-high lander and the micro rover will photograph regolith, Moon's fine-grained surface material.
If successful, ispace plans to transfer ownership of this material to NASA in what it claims would be the world's first commercial transaction of lunar resources.
Target
Paving way for lunar economy
According to ispace, this mission will collect operational data to support future missions.
Tenacious will study soil conditions and contribute to a better understanding of the Moon's environment, which is crucial for upcoming human and robotic exploration.
ispace also views this as progress toward establishing a lunar economy, where private companies take the lead in supporting scientific missions, communication infrastructure, and potential resource mining.
National support
Japan signs agreements with NASA for future Artemis missions
Through the latest mission, Japan remains committed to lunar exploration as part of NASA's Artemis program, even as US President Donald Trump's changes to the US's space policy create uncertainty about its future.
The Japanese government has been keen on promoting the country's role in this global effort.
Last year, it signed an agreement with NASA for two Japanese astronauts and a Toyota-built rover to be part of future lunar missions.
Future aspirations
Plans for more missions and a lunar colony
ispace envisions a lunar colony of 1,000 people by the 2040s, using water resources from the Moon.
The company has seven more missions planned in the US and Japan through 2029, including one sponsored by NASA as part of the Artemis program.
Despite a rocky start after its market debut in 2023, shares in ispace have surged some 60% year-to-date, highlighting a boom for space start-ups on Japan's capital market.