ispace's Lunar Lander Fails Second Attempt, Highlighting Commercial Space Challenges

ispace, a Japanese space company, experienced its second consecutive failure to land on the Moon with its Resilience lunar lander on Thursday. The spacecraft plummeted into Mare Frigoris, destroying a small rover and experiments aimed at demonstrating lunar resource extraction. Ground control lost contact moments before touchdown, with engineers later identifying a malfunction in the laser rangefinder used to measure altitude. The lander descended too quickly, resulting in a hard landing.
This failure follows a similar issue in 2023, where the spacecraft misjudged its altitude and crashed. ispace's CEO, Takeshi Hakamada, acknowledged the difficulty of lunar landings but emphasized that success is achievable, citing examples from U.S. private companies and Japan's space agency, JAXA. The company plans to analyze the telemetry data to identify the root cause and restore trust with stakeholders.
The Resilience lander carried payloads including a rover, a water electrolysis experiment, and a radiation monitor, some partially funded by international partners. The mission was part of ispace's Hakuto-R program, inspired by its participation in the Google Lunar X-Prize. Despite setbacks, ispace remains committed to its lunar ambitions, with a third mission scheduled for 2027 under a partnership with Draper Laboratory and NASA.
The failure underscores the technical challenges of commercial lunar exploration, with only a handful of companies achieving limited success so far. ispace's resilience in the face of adversity reflects its determination to overcome hurdles and contribute to the growing lunar economy.

Published: 6/6/2025