Two private companies are preparing to fly to the Moon this month. The race is underway between US-based Firefly Aerospace and Japan’s ispace which is making its second attempt at a lunar landing. Both companies are targeting no earlier than mid-January to launch their landers on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
ispace’s seeks redemption
The Japanese company will attempt its second landing on the Moon after it failed to do so in April 2023. Named Mission 2, it includes the HAKUTO-R lander Resilience that will be launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 from Florida carrying a tiny rover called Tenacious.
We’re starting off 2025 with a few throwbacks!
Earlier last year, when the TENACIOUS rover was in Luxembourg before integration into the RESILIENCE lander, ispace engineers worked diligently to assemble it. This included payload integration, which is among the activities you… pic.twitter.com/gawmsAbxKI
— ispace (@ispace_inc) January 2, 2025
According to ispace, Resilience will land near the center of Mare Frigoris, an expansive basaltic plain situated in the Moon’s northern hemisphere. It will launch along with Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander on the same Falcon 9 rocket.
ispace has been financed by NASA to build a lander and fetch lunar samples from the Moon. Interestingly, the lander will take a low energy orbit as Mission 1 so its landing will take place 4-5 months after the launch. Resilience will be approximately 10 lakh kilometres from Earth at its furthest point.
“During the mission, ispace is expected to collect regolith that accumulates on the footpad of the landing gear of the RESILIENCE lunar lander during the touchdown on the surface, photograph the collected regolith with the TENACIOUS micro rover and conduct an “in-place” transfer of ownership of the lunar regolith to NASA,” ispace said in a statement. An Indian company’s cubesat is also part of the lander’s payload.
The company is simultaneously working on Mission 3 in partnership with NASA and it is targeted for launch in 2026. Mission 3 will be followed by Mission 6 in 2027.
ALSO SEE: Tiny Indian CubeSat To Hitch A Ride Soon On Japanese Lander To The Moon
Firefly’s first attempt at Moon landing
Firefly has built its Blue Ghost lander under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The 6.6-feet-tall lander will carry 10 payloads for NASA and touchdown in the Mare Crisium region on the Moon’s near side.
Firefly kicked off the New Year in style with another Alpha rocket stage test! Cheers to 2025 that’s revving up to be an incredible year with multiple Alpha launches, our first Blue Ghost mission to the Moon, and an on-orbit Elytra mission. pic.twitter.com/8pKtGVM75q
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) January 1, 2025
According to Firefly, the lander will take 45 days to reach the Moon and will operate for about 14 Earth days (one lunar night).
“Following payload operations, Blue Ghost will capture imagery of the lunar sunset and provide critical data on how lunar regolith reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk conditions. The lander will then operate for several hours into the lunar night,” it said in the mission description.
The payloads on the lander will be used for several demonstrations including testing regolith sample collection, Global Navigation Satellite System abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and lunar dust mitigation.
Firefly also has two more lunar missions in the pipeline. Blue Ghost 2 is scheduled to launch in 2026 followed by the third mission later on.
NASA is banking on both companies to support the Artemis Program launched to establish sustainable lunar bases on the Moon and prepare for missions to Mars.
ALSO SEE: US Startup Introduces Lunar Lander To Kick-Off Moon Race In January 2025
(Image: Firefly Aerospace/ispace)
