Japanese space debacle: ispace lander Resilience” fails on the moon!

Japanese space debacle: ispace lander Resilience” fails on the moon!

On June 6, 2025, the private Japanese space company ispace suffered a setback in its attempt to land the Resilience lander on the moon. The lander, which was equipped with various scientific instruments and the mini-rover Tenacious, crashed on the lunar surface after contact with the ground station was lost during the approach. Preliminary analysis suggests that a sensor error resulted in inadequate braking maneuvers.

The landing attempt took place in Mare Frigoris, a region in the far north of the moon, and was planned as a further step towards successful private missions in lunar space. ispace boss Takeshi Hakamada regretted the development and emphasized the company's commitment to learning from the failures. This botched landing follows a similar failure recorded on the Hakuto-R mission in 2023.

Technical issues and mission requirements

The “Resilience” lander should, according to information from Space.com land on June 5, 2025 at 3:17 p.m. EDT (1917 GMT). However, telemetry stopped just 1 minute and 45 seconds before the scheduled landing due to an equipment malfunction. Preliminary data suggested that delays in the lander’s laser rangefinder prevented it from decelerating sufficiently for a soft landing.

With a height of 2.3 meters and a weight of 1,000 kilograms, the lander was equipped with five payloads. These included, among other things, a radiation sample study and a technological demonstration project for the production of hydrogen and oxygen from lunar water. The mini-rover “Tenacious” was designed to take photos and collect lunar material.

The future of ispace

The botched landing maneuver was particularly significant for ispace as it would have been the first non-US company to successfully land on the moon. However, given this setback, ispace plans to focus on future missions. Two more lunar missions with a larger lander called Apex 1.0 are in preparation by 2027.

Attempts by private companies to reach the moon come amid growing international efforts to explore the moon. Recently, a US private company successfully landed the unmanned lunar probe Odysseus on the lunar surface, which illustrates the increasing role of private providers in space travel. This development is part of NASA's larger plan to bring lunar missions under private sector responsibility to promote more cost-effective and innovative solutions, such as BR.de reported.

Overall, lunar exploration remains an exciting and challenging field that attracts both government and private players. The recent setbacks and successes will continue to shape the strategic direction in the coming years.