iSpace

As we wind down launches for 2024, we’re looking at what is to come in 2025. January looks to be a rather exciting time if you’re a Moon fan, as three companies will be starting their journey for their shot to land on the Moon, hopefully softly.

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Japanese robotic space company, ispace, announced that it will fly a second Hakuto-R lunar lander to the Moon to reattempt its landing. This time, the mission will feature a micro-rover, developed by ispace, that will capture lunar regolith for NASA.

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This week Seth and Jared discussed the milestone launch of SpaceX’s 200th consecutive Falcon 9 rocket without a failure. The big question is, will there ever be another failed launch from SpaceX?

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ispace announced it had solved the mystery of why its lander failed to have a successful touchdown on the lunar surface last month. Thanks to a software feature intended to help save the lander, the glitch ended up being its demise.

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Last month, the Japan-based company ispace attempted to land the first-ever privately funded lunar lander on the Moon. Named the HAKUTO-R, it sadly did not land softly, and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered its impact crater.

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ispace’s HAKUTO-R lander, which was launched last December, attempted to land on the Moon today, April 25. The mission was looking likely to be the first commercial company to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon, but late in the landing phase, ispace lost communication with the uncrewed spacecraft.

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On December 9, 2020, iSpace announced that it had opened a brand new mission control center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. It will serve as the mission control for the companies commercial lunar exploration program, “HAKUTO-R.”

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In September, NASA unveiled plans to pay commercial companies to collect Moon rocks and transfer ownership to the U.S. space agency for the first time. Now, NASA has selected four proposals to fulfill its goal, and the awards range from $1 to $15,000.

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