Japan’s Private Moon Landing Mission Ends in Another Setback
On June 5, 2025, ispace’s Resilience lander lost contact just under two minutes before its scheduled soft landing in the Moon’s Mare Frigoris region. Preliminary analysis points to a malfunction in the laser rangefinder, causing the spacecraft to descend too quickly and resulting in a "hard landing."
This marks ispace’s second failed moon landing attempt, following a similar crash in 2023.
Resilience carried a small rover named Tenacious, developed by ispace Europe, along with several scientific and artistic payloads — including a deep-space radiation detector, a hydrogen extraction system, and even a miniature house intended as an art installation. Unfortunately, none of these survived the crash.
Despite the disappointment, ispace is pressing forward. The company is preparing two more missions for 2027, featuring a significantly larger and more advanced lander known as Apex 1.0, weighing 2 tons. These upcoming efforts aim to contribute to long-term lunar exploration and the development of sustainable activity on the Moon.
On June 5, 2025, ispace’s Resilience lander lost contact just under two minutes before its scheduled soft landing in the Moon’s Mare Frigoris region. Preliminary analysis points to a malfunction in the laser rangefinder, causing the spacecraft to descend too quickly and resulting in a "hard landing."
This marks ispace’s second failed moon landing attempt, following a similar crash in 2023.
Resilience carried a small rover named Tenacious, developed by ispace Europe, along with several scientific and artistic payloads — including a deep-space radiation detector, a hydrogen extraction system, and even a miniature house intended as an art installation. Unfortunately, none of these survived the crash.
Despite the disappointment, ispace is pressing forward. The company is preparing two more missions for 2027, featuring a significantly larger and more advanced lander known as Apex 1.0, weighing 2 tons. These upcoming efforts aim to contribute to long-term lunar exploration and the development of sustainable activity on the Moon.
Japan’s Private Moon Landing Mission Ends in Another Setback
On June 5, 2025, ispace’s Resilience lander lost contact just under two minutes before its scheduled soft landing in the Moon’s Mare Frigoris region. Preliminary analysis points to a malfunction in the laser rangefinder, causing the spacecraft to descend too quickly and resulting in a "hard landing."
This marks ispace’s second failed moon landing attempt, following a similar crash in 2023.
Resilience carried a small rover named Tenacious, developed by ispace Europe, along with several scientific and artistic payloads — including a deep-space radiation detector, a hydrogen extraction system, and even a miniature house intended as an art installation. Unfortunately, none of these survived the crash.
Despite the disappointment, ispace is pressing forward. The company is preparing two more missions for 2027, featuring a significantly larger and more advanced lander known as Apex 1.0, weighing 2 tons. These upcoming efforts aim to contribute to long-term lunar exploration and the development of sustainable activity on the Moon.
