CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has successfully launched two lunar landers on a mission to explore the moon, marking a significant step forward in commercial space endeavors. The liftoff occurred late at night from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, sending the landers into space to support both American and Japanese companies looking to tap into lunar opportunities.
The two landers, which traveled together initially to cut costs, separated about an hour after launch and will now take different routes over the coming months. This mission is particularly important for ispace, a company based in Tokyo, as it attempts to make a successful landing following its previous attempt ended in failure two years ago. This time, ispace has equipped its lander with a rover designed to collect lunar soil samples for study and to explore potential resources for future human missions.
Meanwhile, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is participating in this venture by sending 10 scientific experiments for NASA. These include tools to collect lunar dirt and measure subsurface temperatures, along with a device intended to help future astronauts keep their gear clean from lunar dust.
Firefly’s lander, named Blue Ghost after a type of firefly found in the southeastern United States, is scheduled to reach the moon first, aiming for a landing in early March. The slightly larger ispace lander, called Resilience, will take a more extended route, with plans to touch down at Mare Frigoris by late May or early June.
According to ispace’s CEO, Takeshi Hakamada, the focus is not on racing to the moon, but rather on ensuring successful scientific operations. Both leaders understand the challenges of landing on the moon, especially considering the debris left behind by previous missions. Only five nations have successfully landed spacecraft on the lunar surface since the 1960s, including the U.S.
The U.S. remains the only country to have landed astronauts on the moon, and NASA’s Artemis program aims to return humans to the lunar surface by the end of the decade. Nicky Fox, NASA’s science mission chief, emphasized the significance of sending technology and science instruments ahead of manned missions.
If all goes well, both landers will operate in constant daylight for about two weeks before shutting down for the lunar night. ispace’s rover will explore the moon’s surface, while also delivering a whimsical token — a small red house created by a Swedish artist, highlighting the blend of science and art even in space exploration.
NASA is investing significantly in this mission, with payments totaling over $145 million to Firefly for its role and operations. ispace’s costs for its rebooted mission remain undisclosed, but they are reported to be lower than their first endeavor, which exceeded $100 million.
Looking ahead, another NASA mission by Intuitive Machines is set for launch at the end of February, aiming to continue advancements in U.S. lunar exploration following their successful landing last year.
Now, as we look to the future, there is a strong sense of national pride in supporting these ventures, marking a new era in American commercial space exploration.
