With a presence in Japan, Luxembourg and the US, ispace describes itself as a lunar resource development company specialising in the design and build of lunar landers and rovers. The company is aiming to provide high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon.
Following launch on December 11, 2022, ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission Control Centre in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, confirmed that a stable communications link with the lander had been established.
By completing launch and separation, ‘Success 2’ of Mission 1’s 10 milestones has been achieved. By clearing this stage, the Series 1 lander has shown that it can withstand the extreme conditions of launch, validating its design and providing information that will be used in future development.
After separation from the rocket, the Mission Control Centre confirmed communication with the lander and work is in progress to establish a stable attitude and stable power generation.
Further milestones for Mission 1 include completion of all deep-space orbital control manoeuvres before LOI (Lunar Orbit Insertion) to prove that the lander is capable of steady deep-space flight by completing a nominal cruise and orbital control manoeuvres over one month. Mission 1 will also see completion of landing sequences to verify landing abilities for future missions.
Recognising the possibility of an anomaly during the mission, ispace said the results will be evaluated against the criteria defined for each milestone and incorporated into future missions that are already in development between now and 2025.
Mission 2 and Mission 3, which will contribute to NASA’s Artemis Program, will further improve the maturity of ispace’s technology.
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