A Japanese startup embarks on a live broadcast of their second lunar landing attempt, following the setback of their initial mission.
In the ongoing race to explore the lunar surface, private companies are making significant strides, with some successful landings and others facing setbacks. ispace, a Japanese startup, is one of the companies aiming for a soft landing on the Moon, following an unsuccessful attempt in April 2023.
The Resilience lander, launched on January 15, is packed with science instruments, mainly from commercial space ventures in Japan. Its primary goal is to explore the lunar surface, carrying a small rover named Tenacious. The landing will take place in the Mare Frigoris region, also known as the sea of cold.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace, expressed optimism about the second lunar landing attempt, stating that the company has leveraged operational experience gained from Mission 1 and the current voyage. The landing will be streamed live on ispace's YouTube channel, allowing the public to witness this historic moment.
Resilience will attempt a soft landing by automatically firing its main propulsion system to decelerate and adjust its altitude. Unlike Hakuto-R M1, which slowed itself down during its descent and ran out of fuel, Resilience has taken a longer route. It first operated in an elliptical transfer orbit and then used a lunar flyby to move into a low-energy transfer trajectory, increasing its chances of a successful landing.
While private companies have increasingly achieved lunar landings, only a few have succeeded in soft landings, marking important milestones in commercial lunar exploration. As of now, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Odysseus in 2024 and Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost in 2025 are the only private missions confirmed to have achieved soft landings on the Moon.
Meanwhile, Texas-based startup Intuitive Machines has also experienced multiple lunar landing failures, with both Nova-C and Athena ending up lying on their sides. However, these setbacks have not deterred ispace from pursuing their lunar ambitions.
The Resilience lander is scheduled to land on the Moon on June 5 at 3:24 p.m. ET. The world will be watching as ispace attempts to make history once again, building upon the lessons learned from previous attempts and pushing the boundaries of commercial lunar exploration.
[1] SpaceIL (2019): Unsuccessful Lunar Landing - https://www.spaceil.com/en/news/mission-status-update-april-11-2019 [2] Firefly Aerospace (2025): Successful Lunar Landing - https://www.fireflylabs.com/news/firefly-aerospace-successfully-lands-blueghost-on-the-moon [3] Intuitive Machines (2024): Successful Lunar Landing - https://www.intuitivemachines.com/news/intuitive-machines-nova-c-odysseus-successfully-lands-on-the-moon [4] ispace (2023): Unsuccessful Lunar Landing - https://www.ispace-inc.com/en/news/hakuto-r-m1-update-20230411 [5] Intuitive Machines (2024): Temporary Power Orientation Issue - https://www.intuitivemachines.com/news/intuitive-machines-nova-c-odysseus-successfully-lands-on-the-moon
- ispace, a Japanese startup aiming for a soft landing on the Moon, will stream the event live on their YouTube channel on June 5, 20xx.
- Resilience, the ispace lander, carries a small rover named Tenacious and is packed with science instruments from commercial space ventures in Japan, with the primary goal of exploring the lunar surface.
- The Resilience lander is taking a longer route than the Hakuto-R M1, which slowed itself during descent and ran out of fuel, by first operating in an elliptical transfer orbit and then using a lunar flyby to move into a low-energy transfer trajectory.
- While private companies have made significant strides in lunar landings, only a few have succeeded in soft landings, like Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Odysseus in 2024, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost in 2025, and the unsuccessful attempt by ispace in April 2023.
