Japan’s ispace is preparing to attempt a second Moon landing on Friday, more than two years after its first mission ended in failure moments before touchdown.
The private space company is aiming to deliver its Resilience lander safely onto the lunar surface at 4.17am JST (11.17pm GST) on June 6, with a livestream on the company's website scheduled to begin an hour earlier.
If successful, it would be a major milestone for ispace and will help validate the role of commercial firms in lunar exploration.
The company's spacecraft - which was carrying the UAE's Rashid rover and payload from other countries - crashed on the lunar surface during a landing attempt in 2023.
“Just over two years ago, on April 26, 2023, ispace, operating Hakuto-R Mission 1, became the first private company in the world to attempt a lunar landing," company founder Takeshi Hakamada said on Wednesday.
"While the mission achieved significant results, we lost communication with the lander just before touchdown.
“Since that time, we have drawn on the experience, using it as motivation to move forward with resolve. We are now at the dawn of our next attempt to make history."
The mission is part of a broader vision by ispace, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to help build what it calls a cislunar economy, in the space between the Earth and the Moon.
But the company must first prove that it can land a spacecraft intact, something only a handful of government space agencies and two private firms have achieved to date.
Second chance
After ispace’s 2023 lunar landing attempt, engineers discovered that the Hakuto-R lander had misjudged its altitude. Believing it had landed when it was still in the air, it shut off its engines prematurely, causing it to crash.
It was the first attempt by a private company and, despite failing, it provided crucial data for engineers.
The Resilience lander is carrying commercial payloads, including the Tenacious rover by the European Space Agency, and aims to demonstrate ispace’s capability to offer transportation services to the Moon. A third mission is planned for 2026.
Tough field
Several private companies have attempted to land on the Moon in recent years.
In January 2024, US-based Astrobotic launched its Peregrine lander, but a propellant leak soon after deployment led to mission failure.
The following month, Intuitive Machines achieved the first successful private Moon landing with its Odysseus lander, though the spacecraft tipped over after touchdown.
In March this year, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace became the first company to complete a fully successful private lunar landing with its Blue Ghost mission, operating on the surface for two weeks.
Intuitive Machines followed with Athena, which also reached the Moon but landed on its side, prematurely ending the mission.
Creating lunar access
While the short-term goal of these missions is proving technical capability, experts say the long-term stakes are much higher.
Dr Dimitra Atri, an astrophysicist at New York University Abu Dhabi, said the Moon could serve as a critical hub for future deep space missions.
“Harnessing the water on the Moon to produce oxygen and hydrogen, essential components of rocket fuel, holds the potential to transform lunar mining operations into a ‘gas station’ for future space missions,” he told The National.
“The Moon could serve as a launching point for spacecraft, offering a cost-effective alternative due to its lower gravity.”
Commercial players such as ispace hope to play a leading role by offering regular transport to and from the lunar surface.
Anna Hazlett, founder of UAE space advisory firm AzurX, told The National that if companies succeed in establishing access, it would change how space missions are designed.
“A commercial lunar transport service lowers the barrier to entry for space agencies and research institutions,” she said.
“It’s a shift from bespoke, typically government-led missions to scalable lunar logistics, much like what SpaceX did for low Earth orbit.”
Dr Atri said this business model would also benefit scientists like him.
“If I want to carry out a scientific experiment on the Moon, I will have to design the entire mission, propose it to a space agency, and the launch will be in about a decade from conception,” he said.
“In the case of private companies, I only need to focus on building my experiment and the company will deliver the payload to the Moon rather quickly."
Nerve-racking moments
ispace has made upgrades to its lander systems, including improved software and navigation tools, for the second landing.
Because the Moon has no atmosphere, engineers cannot use parachutes to slow down the spacecraft. Instead it has to use its propulsion system to change velocity and attitude.
The unstable terrain of the lunar surface can hamper a safe landing.
“We strongly believe this endeavour and its long-term success will contribute to making life on Earth sustainable for all humanity,” said Mr Hakamada.
If the vehicle successfully lands, it will operate on the Moon for two weeks.
