Companies

Japanese Startup’s Lunar Lander on Course to Land June 6; Set to Be 1st Japanese Private Company to Achieve Moon Landing

Courtesy of ispace, inc.
This photo of the moon was taken by Resilience on Feb. 15.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:12 JST, March 5, 2025

Lunar lander Resilience from Tokyo-based startup ispace, inc. will land on the moon on June 6 at the earliest. The space venture company announced on Tuesday.

Resilience was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in January. On Feb. 15, the spaceship arrived at a point as close as about 8,400 kilometers from the moon before changing its course by using the moon’s gravity. Resilience then entered orbit best suited to heading to the moon surface.

According to ispace, Resilience will reach lunar orbit on May 6 and spend a month correcting its course. Under the plan, the lunar lander will begin its descent from 100 kilometers above the moon between about 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. on June 6, and land at about 4:24 a.m.

If the project is successful, ispace will become the first Japanese private-sector firm to achieve a moon landing and the third private company in the world to do so after two U.S. companies.