Japan startup hopeful ahead of second moon launch

Japanese startup ispace stated its upcoming second unmanned Moon mission will be successful, declaring on Thursday that it has learned from its failed attempt nearly two years ago.

In April 2023, the firm's first spacecraft crashed in a "hard landing", foiling its hopes of being the first private company to land on the Moon.

The Houston-based Intuitive Machines achieved this feat last year with an unmanned spacecraft that landed at an incorrect angle but was still able to conduct experiments and send back photos.

As another mission is set to launch next week, ispace aims to make its mark in space history at a time when both governments and private companies are actively sending missions to the Moon.

"We are disappointed in the failure of Mission 1," stated ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada to the press.

That's why we wish to convey a message to our fellow citizens across Japan, emphasizing the importance of pushing ourselves beyond our boundaries even after encountering setbacks and learning valuable lessons from them.

"We will ensure the success of this Mission 2," he said.

The name of its new lander is "Resilience". It will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 15, accompanied by a lunar lander developed by the US company Firefly Aerospace.

If the Resilience missionis pulled off successfully, it will deploy a mini robotic rover and five other payloads contributed by corporate partners.

These include an experiment by Takasago Thermal Engineering, with the aim of splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen gas, with the goal of utilizing hydrogen as a fuel for satellites and spacecraft.

Rideshare

The Firefly Blue Ghost lander is scheduled to reach the Moon after a 45-day journey, and will be followed by the ispace Resilience, a Japanese mission that aims to land on the Earth's satellite by the end of May or early June.

According to Hakamada, ispace chose to reduce costs for its programme, officially named Hakuto-R Mission 2, by opting for the first private-sector rocket rideshare.

Only five nations have successfully landed a spacecraft on the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and, most recently, Japan.

Numerous companies are competing to provide more affordable and regular opportunities for space exploration than governments currently do.

Space One, a Japanese startup, is attempting to be Japan's first company to launch a satellite into space, but so far, it's encountered some difficulties.

Last month, Space One's solid-fuel Kairos rocket launched from a private launch site in western Japan, but was later spotted falling from view in the distance.

That was the second launch attempt by Space One following its inaugural try last year in March, which ended with an explosion in the air.

In the meantime, Toyota, the world's leading automobile manufacturer, announced it will invest seven billion yen, equivalent to $44 million, in Interstellar Technologies, a Japanese rocket startup.

"Global demand for small satellite launches has experienced a near twenty-fold surge, increasing from 141 launches in 2016 to 2,860 in 2023," driven by private space companies, national security concerns, and advancements in technology, Interstellar stated.