14.09.2024

A Japanese space venture firm plans to launch a new lunar lander as early as December as its second trial to land a spacecraft on the moon.

The company, ispace, attempted the world's first private-sector lunar landing in April last year. But its craft failed to make a landing on the lunar surface.

At a news conference on Thursday in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, ispace executives announced the plan to launch a newly-developed lunar lander on a rocket of the US firm Space X.

The executives also unveiled the new lander to media. The octagonal-shaped craft, which is both two meters high and wide, has four support rods designed to absorb impact shocks on landing.

In recent years, lunar exploration has been growing increasingly competitive among nations and companies.

In February, a US space exploration company became the world's first private firm which successfully put a lander on the lunar surface.

The CEO of ispace, Hakamada Takeshi, said that the company has kept moving forward based on its experiences in the first mission.

He asked the public to have the expectation for his firm's second challenge in a lunar landing.

Quelle: NHK