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Japan's Ispace Fails Second Lunar Landing Attempt

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By Eason Chen/Joyce Tseng

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Japanese firm ispace's Resilience lander is thought to have crashed after the company said it lost communication with the spacecraft as it approached the lunar surface. The Tokyo-based firm was vying to achieve Asia's first commercial moon landing and was carrying Taiwan's first lunar probe onboard. The probe is called the Deep Space Radiation Probe and was made by students at National Central University.

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Japan’s ispace Moon Landing Fails, Losing Taiwan’s First Lunar Probe  

TOKYO — Hopes for a historic moon landing by a Japanese startup were dashed after Tokyo-based ispace lost contact with its lunar spacecraft, Resilience, during its descent. The unmanned lander, which was carrying Taiwan’s first-ever lunar instrument, likely crashed into the moon's surface. 

“I think it is safe to say that the landing was a failure,” said Takeshi Hakamada, CEO of ispace, during a press conference held hours after the attempted touchdown. 

The mission was ispace’s second attempt to reach the moon, following a failed landing in 2023. This latest effort was seen as a chance at redemption, as well as an opportunity for Asia’s first private company to successfully complete a commercial moon landing. But shortly after the scheduled landing time of 4:17 a.m. local time, all signals from Resilience were lost. 

“I feel sorry for the people who have been supporting us, but I take it as my responsibility,” Hakamada said. “I would like to reiterate that it is our responsibility to keep going.” 

Resilience was carrying six payloads, including the Deep Space Radiation Probe (DSRP) developed by a student team from National Central University in Taiwan. The probe marked Taiwan’s first participation in a lunar mission and had been collecting radiation data since the lander’s launch in January. 

Hundreds of supporters, including the Taiwanese team, gathered at a watch party in Tokyo to witness the milestone. But as flight data showed the spacecraft’s altitude suddenly dropping in the final moments, the atmosphere in the room turned tense. Several minutes of silence followed as attendees waited for confirmation of landing. It never came. 

According to ispace officials, the lander’s measurement of its altitude was delayed. By the time the issue was discovered, Resilience had likely descended too quickly and was closer to the lunar surface than expected. 

“Regarding whether it’s the same [issue] as the first mission, we are seeing different phenomena,” said Ryo Ujiie, ispace’s chief technology officer. “However, the cause of this phenomenon needs to be investigated further. So, I cannot say whether it was caused by the same factors or not. But it is different from Mission 1.” 

The company said a full investigation into the failure is underway, but it offered no timeline for when the root cause might be identified. 

Despite this second failed attempt, ispace’s leaders stressed that they will continue their work toward future missions. The firm remains committed to its long-term goal of building infrastructure to support a lunar economy, a vision shared by other private space companies and national space agencies alike.