TOKYO, Jun 07 (News On Japan) - Japan’s bid for a successful private-sector moon landing has ended in failure for the second time, after startup ispace announced that it lost communication with its lunar lander Resilience during the final descent.
The Tokyo-based company, which developed the lander, said contact was lost in the final phase of its Mission 2 operation and the landing could not be confirmed.
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada stated: "Recovery of communications is unlikely, and completing the Mission 2 milestone ‘Success 9’—confirmation of lunar landing—is difficult. It would be reasonable to conclude that the landing has failed."
While the exact cause remains under investigation, Hakamada suggested that the lander may have made a hard landing due to insufficient deceleration.
The Resilience lander was launched from Earth in January 2025 and entered the final descent phase shortly after 3 a.m. on June 6th. However, contact was lost, and no confirmation of landing was obtained even after the scheduled time.
This was ispace’s second attempt to land on the moon, following its first in 2023. In both cases, the goal of achieving Japan’s first private lunar landing was not realized.
Source: FNN
