CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched two lunar landers on Wednesday as part of an initiative involving both U.S. and Japanese companies aiming to enhance ventures on the moon’s surface.
The mission commenced in the early hours from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, contributing to a growing trend of private spacecraft targeting the moon. The two landers shared the launch to decrease costs but separated an hour into their journey, each taking its own route for the extended expedition expected to take several months.
This represents a second attempt for Tokyo-based ispace, which previously experienced a crash with its first lander two years ago. The new mission includes a rover designed to collect moon soil for scientific analysis and explore potential sources of food and water that could benefit future lunar explorers.
Meanwhile, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is carrying ten different experiments for NASA, such as a vacuum for soil collection, a drill to assess subsurface temperatures, and a device intended to help future astronauts keep abrasive lunar dust away from their space suits and tools.
Firefly’s lander, referred to as Blue Ghost, is expected to be the first to touch down on the moon. Measuring 6 feet 6 inches (2 meters) tall, Blue Ghost aims for a landing in early March within Mare Crisium, a volcanic plain located in the northern part of the lunar surface.
The slightly larger ispace lander, named Resilience, will take approximately four to five months to reach its lunar destination, where it plans to land at Mare Frigoris in late May or early June, further north than Blue Ghost.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace, indicated during the launch event that their goal was not to rush but to ensure a successful mission. “We don’t think this is a race. Some people say ‘race to the moon,’ but it’s not about the speed,” Hakamada stated.
Both Hakamada and Firefly’s CEO Jason Kim are aware of the difficulties that lie ahead, particularly considering the remnants of previous missions scattered across the moon’s surface. Since the 1960s, only five nations have been successful in landing spacecraft on the moon: the United States, the former Soviet Union, China, India, and Japan.
Kim expressed confidence in their preparations: “We’ve done everything we can on the design and the engineering.” Yet, for luck, he adorned his jacket with an Irish shamrock during the events leading up to the launch.
The United States remains the only nation to have successfully landed astronauts on the lunar surface. With hopes of sending astronauts back to the moon by the decade’s end, NASA’s Artemis program plans to send numerous scientific and technological missions to the moon to pave the way for future manned expeditions.
If both landers successfully execute their landings, they will operate in continuous daylight for two weeks, ceasing activities once night falls.
Once on the moon, ispace’s rover, weighing 11 pounds (5 kilograms), will remain close to the lander, capable of moving in circles at a pace of less than an inch (a couple of centimeters) per second. The rover also has a unique delivery project, bringing along a miniature red house made by a Swedish artist to leave on the lunar surface.
NASA has allocated $101 million to Firefly for its lunar mission, in addition to $44 million for the associated experiments. Hakamada refrained from disclosing the cost of ispace’s updated mission, although he mentioned it would be less than the initial endeavor, which exceeded $100 million.
In late February, another lunar mission is planned by Intuitive Machines based in Houston. The company made headlines last year when they achieved the first U.S. lunar landing in over fifty years, although their lander made a sideways landing near the lunar south pole yet remained operational.
