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SpaceX launches the first mission of Japan’s ispace lunar lander


A long exposure photo showing the path of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it launches into space on December 11, 2022, with the rocket’s return and landing paths visible to push.

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Japanese lunar exploration company ispace kicked off its long-awaited first mission on Sunday, with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching the venture’s lunar lander from Florida.

“This is the very, very early start of a new era,” ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada told CNBC.

The Tokyo-based company’s Mission 1 is currently on its way to the moon, with a landing expected near the end of April.

Founded more than a decade ago, ispace started out as a group competing for Google Lunar Xprize Award under the name Hakuto – after a white rabbit in Japanese mythology. After the Xprize competition was cancelled, ispace pivoted and expanded its goals, with Hakamada aiming to create “an economically viable ecosystem” around the moon, he said in a press conference. recent interview.

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The company has grown steadily on this first mission, with more than 200 employees around the world – including about 50 at the company’s US subsidiary in Denver. In addition, ispace has continuously raised capital from various investors, bringing in US$237 million to date through a combination of equity and debt. ispace investors include Japan Development Bank, Suzuki Motor, Japan Airlines and Airbus Ventures.

The ispace Mission 1 lander carries small autonomous vehicles and payloads for a number of government agencies and companies – including from the United States, Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

The ispace Mission 1 spacecraft deploys from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on December 11, 2022.

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Before launch, ispace map out 10 milestones for the mission – with the company having completed the first three tasks to date: Prepare for launch, deploy post-launch, and then establish the communication link. This was followed by maneuvers in orbit, and then a month’s worth of space flight before entering the moon’s orbit. Milestones represent the complexity and difficulty of ispace’s mission, with Hakamada emphasizing its belief in the mission as well as noting that each milestone represents another step towards the company’s goals .

“I have 100% confidence in our team of engineers who did the right things to help us successfully land on the lunar surface,” Hakamada said.

If successful, ispace will be the first private company to set foot on the moon – a feat previously achieved by global powers.

Lunar lander for the company’s Mission 1.

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