BusinessLunar

ispace Sets Second Moon Landing Attempt For December

Image: ispace

Japanese lunar firm ispace will launch its Hakuto-R lander to the Moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than December, CEO Takeshi Hakamada said yesterday. 

The lander, called Resilience, is funded by private capital and JAXA, the Japanese space agency, and is expected to be shipped to Cape Canaveral a month and a half before launch.

It will deliver six payloads to the lunar surface, including the first experiment to attempt electrolysis on the Moon, and the Tenacity rover, which will collect regolith samples to sell to NASA—and drop off an art project in the shape of a little red house. 

Do over: In 2022, ispace launched its first lander to the Moon, but software errors led the vehicle to lose track of its distance from the Moon and burn through its propellant; it ultimately crashed into the lunar surface. Engineers at the company say they’ve learned from the experience and better prepared the vehicle for a gentle descent.

Winter Moon: ispace is one of three private companies that will attempt Moon landings this winter, and the only mission not funded by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. However, its third mission with US contractor Draper is backed by CLPS. 

Here’s the rest of the crew—all expected to fly on Falcon 9s:

  • Blue Ghost, the first landing attempt under the CLPS program for Firefly Aerospace, is expected to launch in November.  
  • IM-2, the second CLPS mission from Intuitive Machines, also scheduled for a December launch.

Cislunar economizing: China’s Chang’e missions have laid the 21st century marker for robotic missions to the Moon, including a first-ever sample return from the far side this year. The US is betting that a portfolio of privately-designed landers can provide more bang for its buck in scoping out potential human landing sites, but after a series of not-quite-perfect touchdowns, it’s time to see somebody stick the landing.

Related Stories
BusinessCivilScience

AVS Secures ESA Study for Dark Matter Probe Platform

Added Value Solutions (AVS) won an ESA contract to advance the design and development of its satellite platform for the ARRAKIHS dark matter astrophysics mission.

BusinessPolicy

Commerce Nominee: Space Data “Fundamental” to US Leadership

Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of commerce, committed to supporting the commercial space sector in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

BusinessPolicy

What the Trump Administration Could Mean for Primes

“If I was at a large established prime that’s 20+ years or older, I would be in the war room thinking about how the hell we’re going to deal with this,” one space industry source told Payload. “They have a clear preference for the Andurils of the world.”

LunarTechnology

Inside the Comms Tech Headed to the Moon

As the world prepares for the return of crewed missions to the Moon, space agencies are teaming up with the commercial sector to help future missions communicate and navigate the lunar surface.