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India Today
4 days ago
- Science
- India Today
Japan's ispace Moon landing Live: Resilience spacecraft to begin descent shortly
'I am very proud to announce that once again, on June 6, 2025, JST, ispace will attempt a historic landing on the Moon as part of Mission 2. Our goal is to build the cislunar economy, one in which the Moon and Earth are economically and socially connected. We view the success of the lunar landing as merely a steppingstone toward that goal. We strongly believe that this endeavor and its long-term success will contribute to making life on Earth sustainable for all humanity," Takeshi Hakamada, ispace Founder & CEO said. Resilience has travelled approximately 1.1 million kilometres to get to the Moon. That's more than three times the distance between Earth and the Moon. "After months of preparation and precision flying, the final hour is here. ispace crew in Japan and Luxembourg are ready," says isapce. The Resilience spacecraft will perform a short-duration de-orbit insertion burn to bring it closer to the lunar surface before landing sequence begins. The Resilience spacecraft also carries a 5 kg rover, named Tenacious, in the payload bay at the top of the lander, with a deployment device to set the rover on the lunar surface. The rover is 26 cm tall, 31.5 cm wide, and 54 cm long. It is built of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics. It has a forward mounted HD camera. Communications with the ground will be transmitted through the lander. A shovel mounted on front of the rover will be used to collect a lunar sample, which will be photographed by the HD camera. The decision to target Mare Frigoris is strategic. Unlike the rugged Atlas crater, where ispace's first lander crashed, Mare Frigoris offers a flatter, more navigable terrain, which increases the chances of a safe landing. According to ispace, the site was chosen for its 'flexibility,' providing a broad, relatively smooth area that is less risky for touchdown. Additionally, the location offers extended periods of sunlight and uninterrupted communication with Earth—two critical factors for the lander's operations and the success of its scientific payloads. Landing in Mare Frigoris also represents a milestone in lunar exploration, as it would be the most northerly landing ever attempted on the Moon. The spacecraft will attempt a brave landing at a site called Mare Frigoris, or the 'Sea of Cold.' Mare Frigoris is a vast, dark basaltic plain in the Moon's northern hemisphere, stretching over 1,400 kilometers in diameter. Its Latin name translates to 'Sea of Cold,' reflecting its location in the Moon's far north, just above the prominent Mare Imbrium and east of Mare Serenitatis. The region is geologically significant, with surface materials dating back to different lunar epochs, making it a target of interest for scientific study. Resilience (Hakuto Mission 2) is an ispace (Japan) lunar lander and rover mission planned as a follow-on to the 2022 Mission 1. The mission launched on 15 January 2025 on a Falcon 9 booster from Cape Canaveral, along with the CLPS Blue Ghost mission. It separated and deployed successfully approximately 90 minutes after launch. It reached the Moon after a 4 month low-energy trajectory involving a lunar flyby. It went into lunar orbit May 6. The Resilience spacecraft is currently in an orbit just 100 kilometres above the Moon. The spacecraft has been slowly lowering its orbit since its insertion into the lunar orbit just a few days ago. Japan's ispace mission control team will shortly begin the landing sequence to initiate the descent procedure for the spacecraft. 2 hours until we attempt our second lunar landing. Our next dose of mission trivia: The Deep Space Radiation Probe (DSRP) from National Central University, Taiwan, is hitching a ride to the Moon. Its job? Measure radiation levels and detect cosmic disturbances en route.… — ispace (@ispace_inc) June 5, 2025 Welcome to the India Today LIVE Blog as we bring you all the real-time updates from the Moon this time. Yes, you read that right. Moon!! Japan's private company ispace is all set to attempt a daring landing attempt on the Moon.
France 24
5 days ago
- Science
- France 24
Japanese startup attempts Moon landing
If successful, it will be only the third private mission to the Earth's rocky natural satellite ever completed, and the first by a company based outside the United States. The startup, ispace, says touchdown is expected at 4:17 am Japan time on Friday (1917 GMT Thursday) with the potentially nail-biting attempt streamed on its website. Resilience is "ready to attempt a historic landing on the Moon" and "we are confident in our preparations for success", ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said last week. "We have leveraged the operational experience gained in Mission 1 and during this current voyage to the Moon," he said in a statement. Only five nations have soft-landed spacecraft on the Moon -- the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India and Japan. And now companies are vying to offer cheaper and more frequent space exploration opportunities than governments. Last year, the Houston-based Intuitive Machines became the first private enterprise 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. Then in March this year, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost -- launched on the same SpaceX rocket as ispace's Resilience -- aced its lunar landing attempt. Despite their rocket ride-share, Resilience took longer to reach the Moon than Blue Ghost, and ispace is now hoping for its own moment of glory, after its first mission resulted in an unsalvageable "hard landing" in 2023. Landing on the Moon is highly challenging as spacecraft must rely on precisely controlled thruster burning to slow their descent. Intuitive Machines' second attempt at a Moon landing ended in disappointment in late March. Its spacecraft Athena, designed to touch down on a spot called the Mons Mouton plateau -- closer to the lunar south pole than any previous mission -- tipped over and was unable to recharge its solar-powered batteries. Meanwhile another Japanese startup, Space One, has been trying to become the country's first private firm to put a satellite into orbit. Its latest rocket launch attempt in December blasted off but was later seen spiralling downwards in the distance as the company said the launch had to be terminated.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Sir Dave Brailsford to step back from Manchester United, Jason Wilcox named director of football
Sir Dave Brailsford is relinquishing his day-to-day role at Manchester United and returning to act as director of sport for INEOS, in a major recalibration of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Old Trafford executive. The move coincides with Jason Wilcox being named United's director of football, a position of increased seniority from the technical director title he initially arrived with in April 2024. Advertisement Brailsford, 61, has been a significant figure at United since Ratcliffe's stake was confirmed on Christmas Eve 2023, watching Aston Villa's Boxing Day visit to Old Trafford from the directors' box and continuing to attend games regularly. He was appointed to United's football club board upon completion of the deal, alongside former manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-chief executive David Gill. He had been a consistent presence throughout the due diligence stage of the investment process and was prominent at Carrington once Ratcliffe had the keys to the club, basing himself in Manchester. Brailsford was across the training ground refurbishment, involved in the decisions on Erik ten Hag, and had input on key appointments including Omar Berrada as chief executive and Ruben Amorim as head coach, as well as performance staff. Brailsford led United's 'Mission 21' drive targeting a 21st league title and 'Mission 1' to win first Women's Super League, part of 'Project 150' programme to mark 150th anniversary in 2028. He became less visible in recent weeks, although that can partly be attributed to him becoming a father last year and spending more time in Monaco. Brailsford was seen at the Europa League final in Bilbao, however. Now, with a new executive team led by Berrada in place, and Wilcox assuming greater authority for United's sporting department by being promoted to director of football, Brailsford is stepping back to give them space. He retains his place on the board and will still be on hand to advise on strategic performance matters. Assembling a revamped structure at United was his remit on joining, and this has now happened. Brailsford is expected to increase his support to INEOS Grenadiers, the cycling team he was team principal of until January 2024, shortly after Ratcliffe agreed to purchase a minority stake in United, as they aim to return to Tour de France winning level, with the arrival of a new partner quest. Advertisement Ratcliffe wants Brailsford to help guide Geraint Thomas, who is set to be appointed to a senior management position at INEOS Grenadiers once he retires as a rider at the end of this season. Brailsford can also revert back to Nice, where he was once influential, given United's failure to qualify for Europe means the French club is free from the blind trust it was placed by UEFA to comply with ownership rules. Brailsford is one of several INEOS figures to have joined United, including chief financial officer Roger Bell, directors John Reece and Rob Nevin, and project managers Gary Hemingway and Josh Thompson. Brailsford has been a big part of United under Ratcliffe, pictured attending Carrington alongside the British billionaire in January 2024 to meet players and staff, then being at the forefront of the undulations over Ten Hag's position at the end of that campaign. Brailsford attended pre-season in Los Angeles last summer, and was seen chatting pitchside to Ten Hag, Wilcox, and then-sporting director Dan Ashworth. Much has changed at United in those 11 months since, with Ten Hag relieved of his duties in October following an executive committee meeting where Brailsford left in the same car as Ratcliffe. Ashworth went in December, and now Brailsford is reducing his day-to-day involvement. Doing so once a new football structure had been assembled was part of the plan, with Brailsford's background coming in elite sporting performance, predominantly cycling, rather than football, which he confessed he was not an expert in. United's results this season have been the worst in Premier League history, with Amorim admitting to a 'disaster' campaign that was even denied salvation by Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Berrada and Wilcox are now undoubtedly the key people in charge of the football operations at the club. ()
Business Wire
31-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
ispace Completes Success 8 of Mission 2 Milestones
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, announced today that the RESILIENCE lunar lander has successfully completed all orbital maneuvers while in lunar orbit and is now being prepared for its landing attempt on June 6, 2025. This marks the completion of Success 8 milestone of Mission 2 'SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon.' RESILIENCE conducted a lunar orbital control maneuver at 5:27 p.m. JST (08:27 UTC) on May 28, 2025, to move into a circular orbit around the Moon in accordance with the mission operation plan. The operation required an engine burn of approximately 10 minutes, the longest to date on Mission 2. Since then, the lander has been in a 100 km orbit around the Moon and completes a full orbit every 2 hours. After RESILIENCE completed the orbital control maneuver, ispace engineers in the Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan worked to confirm the precise orbit in advance of the landing sequence. The RESILIENCE lander, which reached lunar orbit on May 7, 2025 (JST), orbited the moon in an elliptical orbit with a perilune (closest point to the moon) altitude of approximately 70 km and an apolune (farthest point from the moon) altitude of approximately 5,800 km. After performing three orbital control maneuvers, it reached a circular orbit around the moon at an altitude of approximately 100 km. A lunar landing is scheduled for no earlier than June 5, 2025 (UTC) (June 6, 2025, JST). The RESILIENCE lander is scheduled to begin descent from its current circular orbit. During the descent phase, the lander will automatically fire its main propulsion system to gradually decelerate and adjust its attitude, with the goal of achieving a soft landing on the lunar surface. 'Having completed eight of 10 mission milestones, RESILIENCE is now ready to attempt a historic landing on the Moon, carrying not only the payloads of our customers but also the hopes of our employees, their families, our partners and all of our supporters,' said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. 'We have leveraged the operational experience gained in Mission 1 and during this current voyage to the Moon, and we are confident in our preparations for success of the lunar landing.' LANDING EVENT LIVE STREAM DETAILS ispace will host a global live stream event with coverage of RESILIENCE's landing attempt on the Moon on June 6, 2025 (JST) (June 5, 2025, depending on location). The coverage will be broadcast in Japanese with English translation provided. Please see links below to watch. Before the lunar orbit insertion, RESILIENCE completed all deep space orbital maneuvers on April 24, 2025, at 10:00 UTC, returning the lander from deep space near to the Moon to complete the orbit injection. At its furthest distance, RESILIENCE was 1.1 million kilometers from Earth. Before that, RESILIENCE completed a lunar flyby, verifying operation of the main propulsion system, as well as the related guidance, control, and navigation system. Following the flyby, the lander continued its deep space journey, spending approximately two months in a low-energy transfer orbit. RESILIENCE was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:11:39 UTC, Jan. 15, 2025, and was successfully deployed from the rocket at 7:44:24 UTC. The RESILIENCE lander has completed the Earth orbit as well as the lunar flyby, known as Success 5. It has completed the low energy transfer orbit with completion of all deep space and lunar orbit maneuvers is preparing for the landing sequence. Mission 2 Milestones ispace has released a transparent set of criteria known as Mission 2 Milestones between launch and landing and aims to achieve the success criteria established for each of these milestones. The results from this mission as part of the HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program, will be weighed and evaluated against the criteria and lessons learned will be incorporated into future missions already in development. Mission 2 Payloads On board the RESILIENCE lunar lander are commercial customer payloads including: Water electrolyzer equipment: From Takasago Thermal Engineering Co. Food production experiment: A self-contained module from Euglena Co. Deep space radiation probe: Developed by the Department of Space Science and Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan Commemorative alloy plate: Developed by Bandai Namco Research Institute, Inc. and modeled after 'Charter of the Universal Century' from the animation Mobile Suit Gundam UC TENACIOUS micro rover: Developed by ispace-EUROPE, this rover will explore the landing site, collect lunar regolith, and relay data back to the lander. It will be equipped with a forward-mounted HD camera and a shovel. Moonhouse: A model house by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg that will be mounted on the rover. The RESILIENCE lander will serve as a cultural artifact, carrying a UNESCO memory disk that preserves linguistic and cultural diversity. ispace is leveraging its global presence through its three business units in Japan, the U.S., and Luxembourg, for the simultaneous development of upcoming missions. Mission 2, featuring the RESILIENCE lunar lander, is led by ispace Japan and was launched on Jan. 15, 2025. It is currently scheduled to land on the Moon on June 6, 2025 (JST). During the mission, the TENACIOUS micro rover, developed by ispace Europe SA, is set to be deployed on the lunar surface to conduct a technological demonstration of regolith extraction as well as mobility on the lunar surface. Team Draper Commercial Mission 1 is also known as ispace's Mission 3. Mission 3, debuting the APEX 1.0 lunar lander, is expected to launch in 2027. The company's fourth mission, which will utilize the Series 3 lander, currently being designed in Japan, is scheduled to be launched by 2027. About ispace, inc. ( ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, 'Expand our planet. Expand our future.', specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with more than 300 employees worldwide. For more information, visit: and follow us on X: @ispace_inc.
Digital Trends
07-05-2025
- Science
- Digital Trends
Japan's ispace moon lander enters lunar orbit ahead of landing attempt
The moon is getting a new visitor, as the Japanese company ispace has entered lunar orbit with its Resilience lander. Launched on January 15, the lander has taken a slow but fuel-efficient path to the moon, and is now making preparations for landing next month. The company ispace is attempting a lunar landing for the second time, after its first lander crashed to the moon's surface in April 2023. Subsequent research found that the problem with the first lander was due to a mistake in calculation of altitude, caused by an issue with the software when the lander passed over a crater rim. This time, the company is hoping for a better outcome when it attempts landing again on June 5. Recommended Videos For now, the spacecraft entered lunar orbit on the morning of May 7, using a nine minute-long thruster burn to put it into a stable orbit. 'First and foremost, we are extremely pleased that the RESILIENCE lander successfully reached lunar orbit as planned today,' said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace. '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. We will continue to proceed with careful operations and thorough preparations to ensure the success of the lunar landing.' Included on the lander are several payloads consisting of science experiments and technology tests, including a food production experiment, a probe for measuring deep space radiation, and an a water electrolyzer experiment. There is also a micro rover named Tenacious, which weighs just 5 kg (11 lb) and which will be deposited onto the surface to explore the area around the landing site. The aim is for the lander to touch down in the Mare Frigoris region, located to the north of the moon, though there is a possibility that the company could choose to switch to a backup landing location if necessary. Once the spacecraft has tested its ability to deliver payloads into lunar orbit, the spacecraft will perform final orbit maneuvers to get into position ready for the landing attempt next month. Please enable Javascript to view this content
