Japanese Startup Launches Lunar Lander in 2nd Attempt

Tokyo, Jan. 15 (Jiji Press)--A lunar lander developed by Japanese space exploration startup ispace Inc. was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday in its second attempt to send a spacecraft to the moon.

The lunar lander is scheduled to arrive at the moon in late May or early June. If successful, ispace could become the first company in Asia to put a spacecraft on the moon.

The company's first lander, which was launched in 2022, failed to touch down on the moon.

Some 300 people, including ispace employees, their families and government officials, gathered at an event in Tokyo and watched a live broadcast of the launch of the second lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Once the spacecraft lands on the moon, it will release a rover that will collect surface data and sand called "regolith".

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]