The mission will be the second by private firm ispace and will likely be watched closely by Australian consortium ELO2, which is working on a similar project.
ispace previously attempted to land on the lunar surface in April 2023, but a suspected software problem led it to crash.
“Since that time, we have drawn on the experience, using it as motivation to move forward with resolve,” said ispace’s CEO, Takeshi Hakamada. “We are now at the dawn of our next attempt to make history.”
The new lander, Resilience, is targeting to touchdown in the Mare Frigoris region of the northern hemisphere of the near side of the moon.
It will carry several payloads from local companies and a Taiwanese university, including a water electrolyser, a food production experiment and a study on deep space radiation.
Resilience will also carry a smaller rover, Tenacious, that is equipped with a shovel that will collect lunar regolith.
The sample will then be sold to NASA for US$5,000 as per an agreement announced in 2020 that aims to establish a precedent for the ownership of space resources.
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“Our goal is to build the cislunar economy, one in which the moon and Earth are economically and socially connected,” Hakamada said.
“We view the success of the lunar landing as merely a stepping stone toward that goal. We strongly believe that this endeavour and its long-term success will contribute to making life on Earth sustainable for all humanity.”
ispace will host a global livestream event with coverage of Resilience’s landing attempt on 6 June 2025 (JST, which is one hour behind AEST), which you can view here or below.
ELO2 beat rival AROSE in December to be tasked with building Australia’s upcoming lunar rover.
The federal government granted both groups $4 million in 2023 to design an initial prototype for a rover – later named Roo-ver – that will be developed to explore the moon’s surface.
It’s hoped that it will be able to collect lunar regolith or moon soil that will eventually be turned into oxygen to support a permanent NASA base.
Regolith can both become oxygen that humans can breathe or aid the production of rocket fuel necessary to support the launch of a rocket from the moon to Mars and beyond.
ELO2 consists of organisations, including universities, SMEs and those in the mining sector. In particular, the University of Adelaide is responsible for the rover’s ongoing testing. Inovor provided the electrical power system and BHP provided expertise in excavation.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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