Japan's ispace set to attempt lunar landing in June

March 4 (UPI) -- Japanese lunar exploration company ispace announced Tuesday it will aim to place a lander on the moon on June 6.

Founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada held a press conference Monday to share details regarding its second lunar mission, which began on Jan. 15 with the launch of its SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2 RESILIENCE lander.

According to a press release from ispace, the mission's conditions have so far remained nominal with no technical issues, and the lander has kept a stable link connection.

If the mission continues to maintain its problem-free status, RESILIENCE is expected to land on Friday, June 6 at 4:24 a.m local time.

Ispace specializes in the creation of lunar rovers and landers, with the purpose of eventually creating frequent and inexpensive transportation services to the moon.

Takeshi explained that so far compared to the company's first attempt to land on the moon, this second mission is "progressing as smoothly as can be expected from the moment of launch." Ispace's first mission failed with a crash into the moon on April 26, 2023.

RESILIENCE is projected to enter lunar orbit around May 6. The lander already completed a successful flyby of the moon on Feb. 15. Should RESILIENCE land successfully, it will then deploy a rover named TENACIOUS, which will conduct an exploration of the area around the landing site.

Ispace is also planning a third mission in 2026 featuring a newly designed lunar lander, and then a fourth mission in 2027 that will deploy a lander that is currently being designed. Takeshi said during the conference that he believes that due to "meticulous preparations" made by ispace's mission operation specialists, RESILIENCE will make a "majestic landing on the moon and the TENACIOUS rover will begin exploration. We will work as hard as we can to make that happen."