Private Japanese moon lander arrives in Florida ahead of January SpaceX launch (photos) (Image Credit: Space.com)
Japanese space exploration firm ispace is preparing for a second attempt at landing on the moon.
The “Resilience” Mission 2 lander has arrived in Florida ahead of launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, ispace announced on Wednesday (Nov. 27). The mission will launch no earlier than January 2025, according to the company, which has not yet announced a precise launch target.
Mission 2 follows the company’s first attempt to land on the moon in April 2023. That mission ended in failure after an altitude sensor was confused by the unaccounted-for detection of a crater rim, leading ispace’s spacecraft to act as if it was closer to the lunar surface than it was.
The new lander — based on the previous Hakuto-R platform but with upgraded software — was transported via commercial cargo plane from a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) facility in Tsukuba, Japan, following testing.
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The Resilience lander will also carry a small rover, named Tenacious, developed by ispace’s Luxembourg-based subsidiary.
“The Mission 2 Resilience lander is the culmination of the Hakuto-R program, incorporating the data and know-how gained from Mission 1,” said Takeshi Hakamada, ispace founder and CEO, in a statement. “We will continue to make final preparations until the day of the launch, when the lander, which carries so many hopes, will be launched.”
Resilience will carry commercial and scientific payloads to the moon. The mission is also expected to contribute to the NASA-led Artemis program, according to ispace.
While there is a strong focus on the upcoming mission, ispace is working on a new, larger lander named APEX 1.0. It is planned to launch for the first time in 2026.
