To mark Japan’s national Space Day, ispace, inc., a global lunar exploration company, announced that its Mission 2, featuring the RESILIENCE lunar lander and TENACIOUS micro rover, is now planned to launch no earlier than December 2024. The press conference held at the Tsukuba Research Support Center in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan, ispace released multiple updates on the progress of the RESILIENCE lunar lander as well as Mission 2.

“I am very happy to announce that the RESILIENCE lander assembly and integration are complete, and we are on schedule for our planned launch no earlier than this December, the landing site has been decided, and preparations for Mission 2 are progressing steadily,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. “As we have said all along, Mission 2 development and mission planning are being determined based on feedback from the lessons learned during Mission 1. We are encouraged by the support from our stakeholders, and the entire team is working towards the success of the mission. Never Quit the Lunar Quest.”

Testing of the structure thermal model of the RESILIENCE lunar lander began in 2023, at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Tsukuba Space Center. Since May 2024, various tests of the RESILIENCE flight model have been conducted and successfully completed.

ispace's TENACIOUS micro rover in the payload bay of the RESILIENCE lunar lander

In August 2024, the TENACIOUS micro rover, which was developed and assembled by ispace EUROPE S.A., ispace’s European subsidiary, was shipped from Luxembourg to Japan and integrated into the lander’s payload bay. RESILIENCE, having completed nearly all testing, will be prepared for shipping in the coming weeks to Cape Canaveral, Fla., from where it will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Mission 2 Landing site

In addition to RESILIENCE lander progress updates, ispace announced its primary landing site for Mission 2 would be near the center of Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold), 60.5 degrees north latitude and 4.6 degrees west longitude, an expansive basaltic plain situated in the Moon’s northern hemisphere.

The primary landing site was chosen along with multiple contingencies to ensure operational flexibility while maintaining scientific and logistical continuity. The site meets the technical specifications of the RESILIENCE lander as well as exploration objectives for the TENACIOUS micro rover, in addition to the mission requirements of other payload customers. Careful consideration of the target site criteria included continuous sun-illumination duration and communication visibility from the Earth. 

ispace’s TENACIOUS lunar micro rover for HAKUTO-R Mission 2

“Now thinking back on Mission 1, to the message ‘Just Landed in our Hearts’ that one of our engineers had given me after our first landing attempt on April 26, 2023, and with the thoughts of all of you who are counting on us, we confidently look forward to the launch of Mission 2,” said Ryo Ujiie, CTO of ispace. “This the next step for ispace and the RESILIENCE lander, leading to our second attempt to land on the Moon and explore beyond.”

Click here to learn more about ispace's HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Details