Lunar Landers from US and Japan Set to Rideshare to the Moon

[patricjfrenn]

A single rocket is set to carry two private lunar landers, built by companies from the US and Japan, to the moon, highlighting the growing role of the private sector in space exploration. SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:11 am (0611 GMT) on Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with favorable weather conditions expected.

The mission will carry two uncrewed, privately developed lunar landers: Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and Japan's ispace's Resilience, which will also deploy a micro rover. Both companies are aiming to replicate the success of Intuitive Machines, which last year became the first private company to successfully land on the moon.

Historically, only a few well-funded national space agencies, beginning with the Soviet Union in 1966, achieved soft landings on the lunar surface. However, several emerging US companies are now attempting to replicate this feat through NASA's experimental Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which seeks to reduce costs and stimulate a lunar economy.

The US intends to establish a permanent human presence on the moon later this decade under the Artemis program, relying on commercial partners to provide essential hardware at a fraction of the cost of government-led missions.

"Each milestone we complete will provide valuable data for future missions and ensure that the United States, along with our international partners, remains at the forefront of space exploration," said Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim. "Firefly is a go for launch. Let’s go ghost riders in the sky!"

On the Japanese side, ispace’s first attempt at landing on the moon ended in a "hard landing" in April 2023, an outcome the company is determined to learn from. "That’s why we hope to send a message to people across Japan that it’s important to challenge ourselves again after enduring failure and learning from it," said ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada.

Blue Ghost is stacked on top of Resilience inside the Falcon 9 rocket, with Blue Ghost scheduled to be deployed first, followed by Resilience about 30 minutes later. The two spacecraft will follow different timelines to reach the moon.

Blue Ghost aims to complete its journey in 45 days, gradually adjusting its orbit around Earth before entering lunar orbit and landing near Mons Latreille in Mare Crisium on the moon's northeastern side. It carries ten NASA instruments, designed to investigate topics such as Earth's magnetosphere, lunar dust, and the moon’s interior and thermal properties. Additionally, Blue Ghost is carrying technology demonstrations for navigation and computing in the moon’s harsh radiation environment.

https://west-game-unlimited-gold-ios.mystrikingly.com/
https://golf-rival-ios-cheat-unlimited- ... ingly.com/
https://stick-war-legacy-unlimited-gems ... ingly.com/
https://stick-war-legacy-ios-mod-free-g ... ingly.com/
https://stick-war-legacy-ios-gems-cheat ... ingly.com/
https://stick-war-legacy-ios-cheats-fre ... ingly.com/
https://stick-war-legacy-free-gems-ios. ... ingly.com/
https://dls-25-unlimited-coins-and-diam ... ingly.com/
https://dls-25-ios-mod-free-coins-and-d ... ingly.com/
https://dls-25-cheat-ios-coins-and-gems ... ingly.com/
https://cooking-fever-ios-mod-unlimited ... ingly.com/
https://cooking-fever-ios-cheat-free-ge ... ingly.com/
https://forge-of-empires-ios-cheats-unl ... ingly.com/
https://forge-of-empires-mod-ios-free-d ... ingly.com/
https://hollywood-story-fashion-star-di ... ingly.com/
https://dragon-mania-legends-argent-et- ... ingly.com/
https://westland-survival-argent-et-ene ... ingly.com/
https://diggys-adventure-energie-illimi ... ingly.com/
https://lost-in-blue-argent-illimite.mystrikingly.com/
https://pocket-champs-argent-et-gemmes- ... ingly.com/
https://cooking-madness-argent-et-diama ... ingly.com/
https://yalla-ludo-diamants-illimites.mystrikingly.com/
https://dice-dreams-lancers-de-des-illi ... ingly.com/
https://family-island-energie-illimite- ... ingly.com/
https://township-argent-illimite-gratui ... ingly.com/
https://massive-warfare-unlimited-money ... ingly.com/
https://real-boxing-2-unlimited-money-a ... ingly.com/
https://reelshort-unlimited-coins-ios.mystrikingly.com/
https://reelshort-ios-mod-free-coins.mystrikingly.com/
https://haunted-dorm-unlimited-gold-mod ... ingly.com/

Resilience, on the other hand, will take four to five months to reach Mare Frigoris on the moon's far northern side. Its primary payload includes scientific instruments and a micro rover called Tenacious, developed by ispace-Europe, a subsidiary based in Luxembourg. The rover is equipped with a high-definition camera and will attempt to scoop up lunar regolith, while a small red "moonhouse" created by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg adorns its front.

Achieving a successful soft landing remains a major challenge. Spacecraft must navigate dangerous terrain, including boulders and craters, while relying entirely on thrusters for a controlled descent, as the lack of an atmosphere rules out the use of parachutes. Recent missions have highlighted the difficulty of landing upright: when Intuitive Machines' Odysseus landed in April 2024, it tipped over, limiting the scope of its investigations. Similarly, Japan's SLIM lander, which landed in March 2024, did so at a tilted angle, leaving its solar panels poorly positioned and reducing its operational lifespan.