At the 40th Space Symposium, ispace technologies U.S., a leading American lunar exploration company, and Zeno Power Systems, a pioneer in nuclear power for space applications, announced a strategic agreement to jointly develop technologies that enable lunar missions to survive the harsh lunar night. The companies are targeting a demonstration mission as early as 2027 to validate this capability on the lunar surface.

NASA has identified lunar night survival as the top technological challenge to provide a persistent presence on the Moon, because lunar surface temperatures plunge below -173 °C (-280°F) and sunlight is absent for two Earth weeks, solar power systems cannot sustain long-duration operations on the Moon. This restricts the potential for advancing science, enabling exploration, and deploying critical infrastructure.

ispace-U.S. and Zeno Power have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the goal of being the first to address NASA’s challenge and explore the integration of Zeno Power’s radioisotope power systems (RPS) into future lunar missions. Unlike solar panels and batteries, RPS provide continuous, reliable heat and electricity, regardless of solar availability, making them ideal for enabling a “survive the lunar night” capability.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Zeno Power to address one of the most critical challenges for lunar exploration—power during the lunar night.  Zeno Power’s cutting-edge power technology offers a reliable solution that will allow us to sustain lunar operations through even the harshest conditions, which is essential for our lunar missions and any long-term lunar exploration endeavors,” said Elizabeth Kryst, CEO of ispace-U.S.

“Powering through the lunar night is key to unlocking a sustained human and robotic presence on the Moon,” said Tyler Bernstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Zeno Power. “Through our work with ispace-U.S., we’re delivering power systems that not only enable missions to survive in the darkness, but also to operate and thrive through it.”

ispace is leveraging its global presence through its three business units in Japan, the U.S., and Luxembourg for the simultaneous development of upcoming missions. Mission 2, featuring the RESILIENCE lunar lander, is led by ispace Japan and launched on Jan. 15, 2025, completed a lunar flyby on Feb. 15, 2025, and is currently traveling to the Moon. During the mission, the TENACIOUS micro rover will be deployed on the lunar surface to conduct a technological demonstration of regolith extraction as well as mobility on the lunar surface. Mission 3, debuting the APEX 1.0 lunar lander, is led by ispace-U.S. and is expected to launch in 2026. The company’s fourth mission, which will utilize the Series 3 lander, currently being designed in Japan, is scheduled to be launched by 2027.

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