SpaceX achieved a remarkable double moonshot on Wednesday, launching two moon landers: Japan’s ispace Hakuto-R Mission 2 and U.S. firm Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost. This marks a significant milestone in global lunar exploration.
Ispace, attempting a moon landing for the second time after a failed attempt in 2023 due to altitude miscalculation, aims to showcase resilience with its lander “Resilience.” Firefly’s Blue Ghost is the third moon lander under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the landers lifted off from Florida at 3:11 p.m. Japan time (0611 GMT). Blue Ghost separated an hour after launch, followed by Resilience 30 minutes later. Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada emphasized their perseverance, saying, “A moon landing is no longer a dream but a reality.”
Blue Ghost, carrying 10 payloads, including one from Honeybee Robotics, is set to land by March 2, while Resilience, with $16 million in customer missions and six payloads, including a Micro Rover for lunar samples, aims to touch down by May-June.
Both landers will operate for one lunar day (two weeks), unable to endure the extreme lunar night. Their paths mimic Japan’s SLIM, which succeeded in landing last year.
NASA’s Artemis program, targeting a human moon landing by 2027, and China’s plan for a 2030 crewed mission underscore a renewed space race. CLPS initiatives like Firefly’s seek to bolster private lunar exploration ahead of NASA’s human missions.
Despite potential policy shifts under President-elect Donald Trump, NASA’s science mission director Nicky Fox remains optimistic, stating, “We do amazing science wherever we go.”
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