Ispace Launches Second Lunar Lander 'Resilience' in Quest for Moon Landing Success

Ispace, a Japanese space startup, took a major step forward on Wednesday with the launch of its second lunar lander named Resilience. The lander, which is part of the company's Hakuto-R program, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It is anticipated that Resilience will reach the lunar surface between late May and early June as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative that aims to deliver critical scientific instruments to the moon.

After the successful launch, the lander detached from the rocket at 2:45 a.m. Florida time, setting its course for the moon. The team at Ispace's Mission Control is now working to establish a stable communication link with Resilience, acknowledging that this may take some time as the lander will orbit the Earth and move through regions where their ground stations cannot reach it. Kevin Zaleski, who leads global communications at Ispace, described the moment of deployment as visually stunning, emphasizing the contagious excitement shared during the livestream of the event.

This launch follows Ispace's initial attempt to land on the moon in April 2023, which ended in failure due to a software issue that led to a crash from a height of about 5 kilometers. Despite only minor hardware modifications from the previous model, Resilience carries with it significant expectations, as a successful landing would mark the first time a private Asian company has achieved this feat. CEO Takeshi Hakamada noted the importance of this event, highlighting the simultaneous launch of two commercial lunar landers as a sign that the cislunar economy is emerging.

While the current lunar mission is just beginning, Hakamada indicated that the company is already planning several future missions. He highlighted this moment as a thrilling part of any space endeavor. The Hakuto-R mission includes a variety of scientific and cultural instruments, such as the Tenacious microrover, which will gather lunar soil for NASA and represent the first European rover on the moon. Additional payloads consist of a device for lunar water electrolysis, a module for producing food on the moon, and a probe designed to measure deep-space radiation.

In addition, Resilience carries a "memory disk" that contains a current list of UNESCO’s Memory of the World program, aimed at preserving cultural heritage. Other unique items aboard include a commemorative plate from Bandai Namco and a small sculpture titled "Moonhouse" by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. Although Ispace's team is optimistic about the mission, the final outcome hangs in the balance. Separately, the Falcon 9 rocket is also carrying Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander, which is expected to land in March.