Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around the Moon, prepares for June touchdown
Japan’s ispace lunar lander named Resilience is set to touch down near the center of the Sea of Cold on June 5.
Lunar sunset recorded by Blue Ghost lander on the Moon
FILE: A video compilation shows lunar sunset imagery captured by Blue Ghost from different camera angles on March 16, 2025. These images, stitched together in a video, show a horizon glow that comes to life just above the Moon’s surface as the sun goes down. Earth and Venus (further in the distance) can be seen above the Moon.
A third private moon lander is getting closer to touchdown on Earth's only satellite this summer after Japan-based company ispace said its robotic mission is now orbiting the Moon.
The ispace mission launched on Jan. 15 aboard a SpaceX rocket, which also carried the Blue Ghost moon lander from Texas-based Firefly Aerospace.
In February, Firefly’s lander successfully touched down, becoming the first American commercial mission to achieve an upright landing on the Moon.
Taking a slightly longer journey to the Moon, Japan’s ispace lunar lander named Resilience is set to touch down near the center of Mare Frigori (the Sea of Cold) on June 5.
The ispace Resilience mission landing site in the Mare Frigoris on the Moon.
(ispace/NASA/ASU)
On Wednesday, Ispace confirmed the spacecraft reached a critical milestone when Resilience entered a stable lunar orbit. The team at ispace Mission Control is now preparing for the final maneuvers that will deliver the spacecraft and its payloads to the lunar surface.
"First and foremost, we are extremely pleased that the RESILIENCE lander successfully reached lunar orbit as planned today," ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said in a statement. "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."
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This will mark the second attempt since 2023 for ispace to land on the Moon. The company attempted to make the first commercial Moon landing with its first HAKUTO-R mission, but after 130 days traveling in space, the team said the landing attempt was not successful.
If the Resilience lander survives the landing, it will deliver a micro rover named Tenacious, developed by the ispace-Europe team. The tiny rover, which has a shovel, will collect lunar dirt and send data back to the lander.
The other payloads onboard the lander include a water electrolyzer, a food production experiment, a deep space radiation probe, a commemorative plate and the Moonhouse art installation by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg mounted to the rover.
Resilience will mark the third Moon landing attempt this year. Another mission from Houston-based Intuitive Machines landed but was not upright for operations on the lunar surface.