Japanese Spacecraft Provider Readies for Mission 2

Japanese space developer ispace, inc announced the completion of the HAKUTO-R Mission 2 RESILIENCE lunar lander, planning for a launch this Winter.

The HAKUTO name may seem familiar to those who recall ispace's work on the little Moonraker rover, a cute little thing that paved the way for bigger and better things like their banner project, the HAKUTO-R. The new unit demanded a host of testing and checks before they could give it the go-ahead for flight, which produced no shortage of information for the team to review. The firm was chosen by NASA to undertake a mission aimed at snatching up some samples of lunar regolith from the surface of the Moon, a fairly involved process requiring the use of a lander and rover system. The tiny rover will deploy and gather a small sample of lunar rock, and photograph, assess, and analyze its composition. That will help mission planners back on Earth as they look to future operations, knowing what the easiest minerals and elements are to access.

Their most recent checkouts included a stint in the thermal vacuum testing chamber, assessing how the satellite will fare in the extreme temp swings that orbiters endure. A simulated spaceflight showed that the HAKUTO-R was able to function under every environmental condition the team could put it up against, retaining full functionality of power systems, guidance, navigation and control (GNC) equipment, radio communications, and thermal control gear. Engineers at ispace are now delving into the data gleaned from the simulated ops, applying lessons learned to future satellite tests.

“I am grateful for the efforts of ispace’s employees as the RESILIENCE lunar lander has achieved another significant testing milestone in preparation for Mission 2,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace. "Conducting multiple missions in relatively short intervals has improved the maturity of our team and the technology itself. We are dedicated to mission success and will continue to work towards realizing our vision of high-frequency, low-cost lunar transportation services.”

“The successful completion of the thermal vacuum test for Mission 2 was a great achievement. I am proud of the efforts of the team involved in this operation by improving the process based on our experience from Mission 1 and the lander performed well, as we expected,” said Ryo Ujiie, CTO of ispace. “The RESILIENCE lander is quickly moving towards final preparations for launch and we are pleased with progress.”

With HAKUTO-R loaded in the chamber, ispace can now look onward to its Series 3 lander, expected to launch in 2026.

FMI: www.ispace-inc.com