Akihabara News — ispace, a Tokyo-based lunar exploration company, is set to launch its second mission, SMBC x Hakuto-R Mission 2, on January 15. The mission will take off from Kennedy Space Center’s Space Launch Complex 39A in Florida, marking another attempt by the company to land on the Moon after the early termination of its first mission.
The mission, named Venture Moon, will employ the Resilience lunar lander and the Tenacious micro rover. Takeshi Hakamada, the founder and CEO of ispace, emphasized the lessons learned from Mission 1, stating that the company is moving forward with resilience. The mission aims to not only succeed where the previous one faltered but also to carry out scientific and cultural experiments on the lunar surface.
The payloads include a water electrolyzer from Takasago Thermal Engineering, a food production experiment by Euglena Co., and a deep space radiation probe from Taiwan’s National Central University. Cultural artifacts are also part of the cargo, including a commemorative alloy plate inspired by “Mobile Suit Gundam UC” and a UNESCO memory disk preserving global cultural heritage. The Tenacious rover will explore the lunar terrain, equipped with an HD camera and a shovel to collect and analyze lunar regolith, and will carry a model house by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg.
Financially backed by around 27 billion yen (US$180 million), ispace has prepared for not only this mission but also for future endeavors, including Mission 3 in 2026 under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and another mission in 2027 with support from Japan’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
In addition to the launch preparations, ispace and Citizen Watch have set up a countdown clock in Tokyo to engage the public with the event. However, the launch date is subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen conditions.
This mission represents a critical step for ispace in its quest to expand lunar exploration and establish a presence on the Moon, with potential implications for future business and scientific research in space.
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