Moon News
MOON DAILY
Japan startup targets June 6 Moon landing
Japan startup targets June 6 Moon landing
by AFP Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Mar 4, 2025

Japanese startup ispace on Tuesday set a June 6 target touchdown date for its Moon lander, following the success of its rocket "rideshare" buddy, a spacecraft from a US firm.

ispace's unmanned Resilience lander was launched in January on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket together with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost -- which aced its lunar landing on Sunday.

Blue Ghost is only the second private mission to achieve the milestone, and the first to do so upright after a separate US company's lander toppled over on arrival.

Now ispace hopes to have its own moment of glory, after the unsalvageable "hard landing" of its initial attempt in 2023.

"Compared to Mission 1, Mission 2 is progressing as smoothly as can be expected from the moment of launch," ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said in a statement.

"I feel that the experience and knowledge from the previous mission have been put to good use," he added.

The window for landing is from June 6 to June 8 depending on conditions, according to ispace.

Although Resilience and Blue Ghost shared a rocket, Resilience is taking longer to reach the Moon and will "complete a lunar flyby" and "enter a low energy transfer orbit", ispace says.

Landing on the Moon is highly challenging due to its lack of atmosphere, making parachutes useless. Instead, spacecraft must rely on precisely controlled thruster burning to slow their descent while maneuvering over hazardous terrain.

Only five nations have soft-landed spacecraft on the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India and Japan.

Private companies are also vying to offer cheaper and more frequent space exploration opportunities than governments.

Last year, Houston-based Intuitive Machines became the first private company to touch down on the Moon.

Although its uncrewed craft landed at the wrong angle, it was still able to complete tests and send photos.

The US company is now aiming for another Moon landing of its Athena probe on March 6, planning to touch down farther south on the Moon than any previous mission.

Athena's payloads include three rovers, a drill to search for ice, and the star of the show: a first-of-its-kind hopping drone.

Related Links
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
MOON DAILY
Lunar Research Facility Lands on Moon for Regolith Study
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2025
The Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) experiment has successfully arrived on the lunar surface, where it will operate for one full lunar day-equivalent to 14 Earth days-conducting research on how lunar dust adheres to various materials under the Moon's harsh environmental conditions. "Sunday morning marked a defining moment in both our company's journey and the future of commercial space exploration as our industry celebrates this successful Moon landing," said Bill Hollister, president of ... read more

MOON DAILY
Researchers analyze river bends to distinguish planetary channel origins

New evidence suggests gypsum deposits on Mars may hold signs of ancient life

Ancient beaches testify to long-ago ocean on Mars

Laser-powered spectrometer tested on Earth may uncover microbial fossils on Mars

MOON DAILY
Tidal energy data aids SwRI scientists in unraveling Titan's composition and orbital shifts

SwRI experiments validate theories about Titan's atmospheric sustainability

MOON DAILY
NASA's Hubble Telescope May Have Uncovered a Triple System in the Kuiper Belt

NASA's Europa Clipper Leverages Mars for Critical Gravity Assist

Oort cloud resembles a galaxy, new study finds

The PI's Perspective: A New Mission Update for the New Year

MOON DAILY
NASA Turns Off Voyager Science Instruments to Prolong Mission

Baby, you're a firework! Katy Perry to blast off into space

Moon or Mars? NASA's future at a crossroads under Trump

Musk furious as critics push back at DOGE's blind destruction of S&T research funding

MOON DAILY
MOON DAILY
Redwire Selected to Develop Concept for Advanced Mars Spacecraft

Europe's Ariane 6 rocket launch rescheduled to March 6

Rocket Lab Sets Launch Window for First of Multiple iQPS Missions

SpaceX aims for Thursday Starship test flight after last-minute scrub

MOON DAILY
China advances manned lunar program for 2030 moon landing

Shenzhou XIX crew successfully tests pipeline inspection robot on space station

Shenzhou 19 Crew Advances Scientific Research and Conducts Training in Space

Moon-Exposed Grass Seeds to Be Cultivated on Earth

MOON DAILY
KP Labs Unveils Smart Mission Lab to Revolutionize Space Technology Validation

Goonhilly Provides Critical Communications for Lunar Mission, Advancing Moon Economy

Spire Establishes Two-Way Optical Link Between Satellites in Orbit

UAF scientist designing satellite to hunt small space debris

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.