Japanese space exploration firm ispace said that its Resilience lander will try to land on the moon at 4:24 a.m. local time on June 6 (1924 GMT on June 5). This is the company’s second try, after a failed attempt in April 2023.
The mission comes after the successful moon landing of U.S. firm Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost spacecraft on Sunday. The two spacecraft had launched on the same SpaceX rocket in January.
Increased Competition in Lunar Exploration
Another US firm, Intuitive Machines, recently sent out its second lunar lander, Athena, and is targeting a landing within the next few days. Worldwide competition for lunar exploration keeps increasing as private firms rush to conduct successful moon landings.
A controlled lunar touchdown by Resilience would make ispace the first private Japanese firm to succeed in a landing on the moon. The mission is one of Japan’s attempts to increase its presence in space exploration and to contribute to global lunar research.
