The Voice News: In a significant blow to Japan’s private space ambitions, Tokyo-based startup ispace has officially declared its second lunar mission a failure, after losing contact with its Resilience lander during its final descent to the Moon. The attempt, which unfolded live via a global broadcast, marks the company’s second unsuccessful lunar landing in just two years.
Mission Timeline and Sudden Silence
The Hakuto-R Mission 2, which had been traveling through space for 4.5 months to conserve fuel, was scheduled to land on the Moon at around 3:15 p.m. ET on June 5, 2025. Engineers at mission control in Tokyo anxiously monitored the descent as the spacecraft initiated its braking maneuvers and followed pre-programmed commands to stabilize its orientation and velocity.
However, with less than two minutes left in the descent, the unthinkable happened: the telemetry feed went dark.
“Telemetry figures are not coming,” one of the mission commentators translated solemnly as engineers watched their screens in silence, many visibly tense and anxious.
By the early hours of June 6 in Tokyo, the mood turned somber as ispace executives called off the mission, stating there was “no prospect” of re-establishing contact with the lander.
A Post-Mortem in Progress
Speaking in an official statement, ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada acknowledged the failure and emphasized the company’s commitment to learning from the experience.
“Our top priority is to swiftly analyze the telemetry data we have obtained and work diligently to identify the cause,” said Hakamada.
Initial assumptions suggest the spacecraft did not decelerate adequately before impact, possibly leading to a crash landing—an outcome reminiscent of ispace’s first failed mission in April 2023, when the lander ran out of fuel during descent.
What Was Onboard?
The Resilience lander carried both scientific equipment and symbolic payloads, representing international collaboration and cultural expression. Onboard were:
Tenacious, a compact European rover equipped with a scoop to collect lunar soil. Had the mission succeeded, it would have become the first European rover to operate on the Moon.
Moonhouse, a red-and-white miniature model of a traditional Swedish house, was intended as an artistic installation on the lunar surface.
Targeting Mare Frigoris – The Sea of Cold
The planned landing site was Mare Frigoris, or “The Sea of Cold,” a relatively flat and less rugged area in the Moon’s northern region—selected to increase the odds of a successful touchdown compared to the challenging terrain of the lunar south pole.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has previously documented lunar crash sites including ispace’s 2023 attempt, is expected to survey the region again in coming weeks to provide visual confirmation of the latest lander’s fate.
The Harsh Reality of Lunar Landings
Landing on the Moon remains a formidable challenge, even in 2025. The Moon’s exosphere lacks atmospheric drag, forcing engineers to rely entirely on precision-controlled braking to reduce descent speed. The absence of GPS infrastructure further complicates navigation and automated landing.
Despite recent successes such as Firefly Aerospace’s March landing, other private missions continue to struggle. U.S.-based Intuitive Machines, for example, landed sideways in a crater earlier this year.
Larger Context: The Commercial Lunar Race
Ispace is one of several private firms aiming to establish a foothold in the burgeoning lunar economy. While the Japanese firm is not eligible to directly join NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program due to nationality restrictions, it is participating indirectly through a partnership with Draper Technologies, with a joint mission planned for 2027.
NASA, through its Artemis program, envisions a sustained human and commercial presence on the Moon by the late 2020s. These early private sector missions are expected to deliver scientific instruments, technology demonstrations, and infrastructure to prepare for future astronaut arrivals.
A Setback, Not a Surrender
Despite the repeated setbacks, ispace remains resolute. As one mission commentator’s translator put it poignantly:
“We need to never quit the lunar quest.”
While Resilience may not have achieved its goal, it continues to represent a step forward in the iterative and challenging path toward commercial space exploration. With growing international collaboration and increased investment, the Moon remains firmly within reach—just not without risk.