Japanese space exploration company ispace is gearing up for its second lunar landing attempt with the Resilience Mission 2 lander, which has been shipped to Florida for an upcoming launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than January 2025, although a specific date has yet to be confirmed.
This mission follows ispace's first lunar attempt in April 2023, which ended in failure due to an altitude sensor malfunction caused by an unexpected crater rim detection. The new Resilience lander builds on the previous Hakuto-R platform and features upgraded software.
Transported from a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) facility in Tsukuba, Japan, the lander will also carry a small rover named Tenacious, developed by ispace's subsidiary in Luxembourg. According to ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada, the mission encapsulates the lessons learned from the first attempt and aims to fulfill significant commercial and scientific objectives.
In addition to its primary mission goals, ispace's Resilience mission is expected to support NASA's Artemis program. Meanwhile, the company is simultaneously developing a larger lander, APEX 1.0, which is slated for its inaugural launch in 2026.