The latest Ispace moon landing attempt ended in disappointment, as Japan-based space company Ispace confirmed that its Resilience lander likely crashed on the lunar surface during its descent. Despite demonstrating considerable advancements since its first mission, Ispace’s second attempt at achieving a commercial soft landing on the Moon did not succeed.
What Happened During the Ispace Moon Landing
The Resilience spacecraft, also known as HAKUTO-R Mission 2 (M2), was designed to land near the centre of Mare Frigoris, or the Sea of Cold, on 5 June. The lander began its descent from a stable circular orbit 100 kilometres above the lunar surface at approximately 3:13 a.m. local time. However, Ispace lost communication with the spacecraft when it was just 192 metres from the Moon’s surface and descending faster than expected.
Scale models of the Resilience lunar lander (centre left) and the Tenacious lunar rover (centre right), both developed by Japanese private firm ispace, were showcased at a Moon landing event held in Tokyo on 6 June 2025. [Photo credit: Kazuhiro Nogi—AFP via Getty Images.]
A statement from Ispace revealed that Resilience’s laser rangefinder—responsible for measuring the lander’s altitude—”experienced delays in obtaining valid measurement values.” This meant the lander was unable to decelerate in time to meet the necessary speed for a safe landing.
“As a result, the lander was unable to decelerate sufficiently to reach the required speed for the planned lunar landing,” the company explained. “Based on these circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface.”
A Pattern of Setbacks
This marks the second failed Ispace moon landing after the company’s Mission 1 (M1) also crash-landed in April 2023. The earlier failure was attributed to a telemetry software issue that wrongly discarded correct altitude data, which led to the spacecraft free-falling to the lunar surface.
Ispace Chief Technology Officer Ryo Ujiie told Nature last week that these telemetry issues were corrected for M2 and the landing site approach was carefully reconsidered. Nonetheless, the mission ended in similar disappointment.
Speaking about the crash, lunar scientist Clive Neal from the University of Notre Dame said, “It eventually slowed down, but not softly enough,” and speculated the failure likely stemmed from unresolved systems issues.
Resilience Carries Ambitious Payload
The M2 mission wasn’t just about sticking the landing—it also carried valuable scientific cargo. The Resilience lander included a water-electrolysing device and a food-production module created by Japanese companies Takasago Thermal Engineering and Euglena. Taiwan’s National Central University provided a deep space radiation sensor, and the lander also carried the Tenacious rover, a 54-centimetre exploration vehicle developed by Ispace’s European subsidiary in Luxembourg.
The rover was designed to capture images, gather location data, and analyse lunar regolith. Notably, it also included a miniature red house by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg, highlighting a blend of scientific and cultural aspirations in the mission.
Also Read: Human Remains Found in Search for Missing Teen Pheobe Bishop
Commercial Competition and Collaboration
The Ispace moon landing was one of several recent efforts by commercial entities aiming to reach the Moon. Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines, both based in Texas and backed by NASA, also made attempts earlier this year. Firefly achieved a fully successful soft landing, while Intuitive Machines’ lander tipped onto its side after touching down.
Though NASA was not directly involved in Resilience’s mission, it is working with Ispace on a future project involving a new lander, Apex 1.0, developed in collaboration with the US-based Draper. This lander is expected to attempt a far-side lunar landing by 2027.
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada remains optimistic, comparing the company’s perseverance to the early struggles of SpaceX. “SpaceX has also failed several times, but now SpaceX occupies the launching market,” Hakamada said. “This is our second failure, and about these results, we have to really take it seriously.”
Financial Backing for Future Attempts
Despite this second setback, Ispace appears undeterred. CFO Jumpei Nozaki confirmed that funding for a third landing attempt is already secured. “Never quit the lunar quest” was the motto for the M2 mission, and the company’s leadership maintains a determined stance.
Hakamada acknowledged the need to win back investor confidence and commit to a thorough investigation of the mission failure. “We have to really take it seriously,” he said. “We will need to deeply investigate what went wrong on the Resilience mission to ensure similar issues don’t plague Apex 1.0.”
Future of Commercial Moon Missions
Experts believe that private companies will continue to play a growing role in lunar exploration. Richard de Grijs, an astronomer at Macquarie University in Sydney, said, “It seems that the big government players like NASA are quite keen to partner with commercial companies,” noting that such partnerships are often more cost-effective than in-house government development.
He added that cluster launches—like the one involving Resilience and Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander—are likely to become more common as commercial lunar activity accelerates.
Conclusion
The recent Ispace moon landing marks another challenging step in the commercial race to explore the Moon. While the Resilience mission did not achieve its goal, it brought valuable lessons and demonstrated Ispace’s commitment to its long-term lunar ambitions. As commercial and governmental efforts continue to intertwine, space exploration is evolving into a more accessible and competitive frontier than ever before.
