Japanese Space Startup Ispace’s Lunar Lander Launched; Rover to Gather Regolith after Touchdown around Late May

By Yusuke Tomiyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

17:54 JST, January 15, 2025

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Japan-based space startup ispace, Inc.’s Resilience lunar lander was launched on a journey toward the moon from the Kennedy Space Center at 1:10 a.m. on Wednesday.

It separated from the rocket about 1½ hours later. It is expected to reach the moon around the end of May and will land there. If it succeeds in landing, it will be the first such feat by a Japanese company.

Tokyo-based ispace previously attempted a moon landing in the spring of 2023, only to fail. Wednesday’s launch is part of its second attempt.

After landing, Resilience will deploy ispace’s micro rover Tenacious onto the lunar surface. Tenacious will use its onboard shovel to collect lunar regolith.

Ispace has signed an agreement to transfer ownership of the collected regolith to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). If realized, it will be the first case of a Japanese company engaging in a commercial transaction of space resources.

Resilience also carries water electrolyzing equipment developed by Tokyo-based leading air conditioning equipment maker Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., among other items.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used for the launch also carries U.S. company Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander. This is the first time for private lunar landers to be launched at the same time. Blue Ghost will head to the moon on a different trajectory than Resilience, aiming to land in the first half of March.

In February 2024, U.S. space company Intuitive Machines made the first ever successful moon landing by a private firm.