Latest news with #MicroRover
Asahi Shimbun
07-05-2025
- Science
- Asahi Shimbun
Private Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around moon ahead of a June touchdown
This photo provided by ispace in January 2025 shows the company's Micro Rover. (ispace via AP) A private lunar lander from Japan is now circling the moon, with just another month to go before it attempts a touchdown. Tokyo-based ispace said Wednesday morning its Resilience lander entered lunar orbit. 'The countdown to lunar landing has now officially begun,' the company said in a statement. SpaceX launched Resilience with U.S-based Firefly Aerospace's lunar lander in January. Firefly got there first in March, becoming the first private outfit to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Another American company, Intuitive Machines, landed a spacecraft on the moon a few days later, but it ended up sideways in a crater. Now it's ispace's turn. It's targeting the first week of June for Resilience's touchdown. The company's first lander crashed into the moon in 2023. The lander holds a mini rover equipped with a scoop to gather lunar dirt for analysis as well as other experiments.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Private Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around moon
A private lunar lander from Japan is circling the moon with another month to go before it attempts a touchdown. Tokyo-based ispace said on Wednesday morning its Resilience lander had entered lunar orbit. 'The countdown to lunar landing has now officially begun,' the company said in a statement. SpaceX launched Resilience with US-based Firefly Aerospace's lunar lander in January. This photo provided by ispace in January 2025 shows the company's Micro Rover (ispace/AP Firefly got there first in March, becoming the first private outfit to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Another American company, Intuitive Machines, landed a spacecraft on the moon a few days later, but it ended up sideways in a crater. ADVERTISEMENT Now ispace is targeting the first week of June for Resilience's touchdown. The company's first lander crashed into the moon in 2023. The lander holds a mini rover equipped with a scoop to gather lunar dirt for analysis as well as other experiments.
