The moon is getting a new visitor, as the Japanese company ispace has entered lunar orbit with its Resilience lander. Launched on January 15, the lander has taken a slow but fuel-efficient path to the moon, and is now making preparations for landing next month.
The company ispace is attempting a lunar landing for the second time, after its first lander crashed to the moon’s surface in April 2023. Subsequent research found that the problem with the first lander was due to a mistake in calculation of altitude, caused by an issue with the software when the lander passed over a crater rim. This time, the company is hoping for a better outcome when it attempts landing again on June 5.
For now, the spacecraft entered lunar orbit on the morning of May 7, using a nine minute-long thruster burn to put it into a stable orbit.
“First and foremost, we are extremely pleased that the RESILIENCE lander successfully reached lunar orbit as planned today,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace. “We have successfully completed maneuvers so far by leveraging the operational experience gained in Mission 1, and I am very proud of the crew for successfully completing the most critical maneuver and entering lunar orbit. We will continue to proceed with careful operations and thorough preparations to ensure the success of the lunar landing.”
Included on the lander are several payloads consisting of science experiments and technology tests, including a food production experiment, a probe for measuring deep space radiation, and an a water electrolyzer experiment. There is also a micro rover named Tenacious, which weighs just 5 kg (11 lb) and which will be deposited onto the surface to explore the area around the landing site.
The aim is for the lander to touch down in the Mare Frigoris region, located to the north of the moon, though there is a possibility that the company could choose to switch to a backup landing location if necessary. Once the spacecraft has tested its ability to deliver payloads into lunar orbit, the spacecraft will perform final orbit maneuvers to get into position ready for the landing attempt next month.
