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Space development is shifting from being state-led to being led by the private sector. Japanese companies should not miss out on the global trend and should pioneer new areas.
The Resilience, a lunar lander made by Japanese space startup ispace, inc., has been launched on a U.S. rocket. If all goes well, it will arrive at the moon as early as the end of May and then attempt to land on the moon, which would be a first for a Japanese private sector enterprise.
The company first tried to put a lander on the moon in 2023, but the attempt ended in failure due to an incorrect estimation of the altitude. At the time, the company had already overcome many difficulties, including putting the lander on a lunar orbit, and was only one step away from success.
So far, only five countries have succeeded in landing on the moon: the now-defunct Soviet Union, the United States, China, India and Japan. In the private sector, a U.S. company was the first to succeed in 2024. If ispace succeeds, it will be a major first for an Asian company.
A small rover will be unloaded from the lander to collect lunar sand. The rights to the sand will later be transferred to NASA. They will not actually provide the sand to the U.S. space agency, but the aim here is to conclude a commercial transaction for lunar resources — something that has never been done before.
In space development, the Outer Space Treaty, which came into effect in 1967, prohibits countries from claiming sovereignty over the moon or any other celestial bodies, but there are no clear rules regarding the ownership of resources.
For this reason, Japan, the United States and Europe will first work to establish domestic legislation on such matters as the transfer of resources. They will then try to take the initiative in crafting rules by actually concluding commercial transactions. Japan also passed the Space Resources Law in 2021. The planned transfer of the lunar sand will be based on this law.
Meanwhile, China is pushing to develop the moon itself through its so-called military-civil fusion policy. In the future, countries may clash with each other due to conflicting interests in the moon’s water and mineral resources. To prevent any one country from dominating, it is essential to establish international rules as soon as possible.
It is important that Japan work with countries like the United States to build a record of transactions involving business activities in space so that in the future this may lead to international treaties and laws on space development.
In the years to come, ispace has said it plans to continue to land on the moon. The company is expected to prove its ability to transport goods to the moon, thereby raising the profile of Japanese companies in the field, and to play a leading role in future space businesses.
The Artemis program, a manned lunar exploration project being led by the United States and involving Japan, Europe and others, is currently underway. From Japan, such companies as ispace and Toyota Motor Corp., in addition to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), are participating in the program. It is hoped that Japan’s space development will get a boost from collaboration between the public and private sectors.
