Japanese Startup to Attempt Moon Landing Again

Tokyo, Jan. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japanese space exploration startup ispace Inc. said Thursday that its new lunar lander will be launched Wednesday in the company's second attempt to put such a spacecraft on the moon.

The company's first lander failed to touch down in 2022. If the second attempt is successful, it would be the second private-sector lunar landing, only after one by a U.S. company in February 2024, and the first by an Asian company.

If the new lander manages to land on the moon, ispace plans to collect data and sand and conduct experiments with its rover.

The lander will be launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket of U.S. spacecraft manufacturer Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, from the Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. state of Florida at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday local time. A lander of a U.S. company will be launched on the same rocket.

Ispace's lander is scheduled to arrive on the moon four to five months after the launch.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]