Resilience, private Japanese spacecraft, to attempt daring Moon landing
Months after it launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket, Japan's ispace Resilience lander is ready to attempt a daring Moon landing.Japan's ispace's RESILIENCE lander is scheduled to attempt a touchdown on the Moon on June 5, 2025, near the center of Mare Frigoris, also known as the Sea of Cold. This marks the culmination of Mission 2 in the company's ambitious SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon program, following a meticulously executed journey of over one million kilometers through deep space.advertisementA LONG JOURNEY TO THE MOON
Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on January 15, 2025, RESILIENCE was successfully deployed and began its months-long voyage using a low-energy transfer orbit—a fuel-efficient trajectory that included a lunar flyby and a series of complex deep-space maneuvers.On May 7, 2025, the lander achieved a critical milestone by entering lunar orbit, following a main thruster burn lasting approximately nine minutes, the longest of the mission so far.Since then, ispace engineers at the HAKUTO-R Mission Control Center in Tokyo have been conducting final orbital adjustments and system checks in preparation for the descent.
It carries a suite of scientific payloads, including a water electrolyser experiment. (Photo: ispace)
advertisementWHAT IS RESILIENCE LANDER?RESILIENCE is a step forward for Japan's private space sector standing 2.3 meters tall and weighing 340 kilograms.It carries a suite of scientific payloads, including a water electrolyser experiment, an algae-based food production module, and a deep space radiation monitor.It also houses a micro rover designed for in situ resource utilisation demonstrations, showing ispace's goal of enabling sustainable lunar exploration and commercial activity.This mission follows ispace's previous attempt in 2023, which ended in a crash landing.Learning from that experience, the RESILIENCE team has implemented upgrades and leveraged operational insights to improve mission reliability.Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace, expressed confidence in the team's preparations, stating, 'We have successfully completed maneuvers so far by leveraging the operational experience gained in Mission 1, and I am very proud of the crew for successfully completing the most critical maneuver and entering lunar orbit'.If successful, RESILIENCE will make not only make history for ispace but also strengthen Japan's position in the rapidly evolving commercial lunar sector, paving the way for future missions and expanded lunar infrastructure.
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