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Hakuto-R Mission 2

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Hakuto-R Mission 2
Resilience
Full-size model of Hakuto-R
Mission typeLunar landing, technology demonstration
Operatorispace
COSPAR ID2025-010B Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.62717Edit this on Wikidata
Websiteispace-inc.com/m2
Mission duration4 months and 20 days
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftHakuto-R Resilience
Spacecraft typeLunar lander
BusHakuto-R
Manufacturerispace
Launch mass~1,000 kg (2,200 lb)[1]
Dry mass340 kg (750 lb)
DimensionsWidth: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Start of mission
Launch date15 January 2025 (2025-01-15), 06:11:39 UTC (1:11:39 am EST)
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1085‑5), Flight 425
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
Resilience Lunar impact (failed landing)
Impact date5 June 2025 (2025-06-05)[2]
Impact siteMare Frigoris (60°30′N 4°36′W / 60.5°N 4.6°W / 60.5; -4.6)[2]

Hakuto-R Mission 2, also called Resilience, was a robotic lunar landing mission launched on 15 January 2025. Developed by the Japanese company ispace, the lander was intended to deliver a small rover manufactured by the company's European subsidiary,[3] as well as other payloads. Like Hakuto-R Mission 1, this mission served as a technology demonstration, with the final goal of providing reliable transportation and data services on the Moon. The lander was named RESILIENCE.[4] Communications were lost approximately 90 seconds before the projected landing[5] and the lander likely crashed on the Moon.[6]

Background

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The project began development after Hakuto-R Mission 1 in 2023. The mission used the same overall design with upgrades from flight data collected in mission 1.[7]

Lander specifications

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The RESILIENCE lander stood 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in) high, 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in) wide and had a weight of 340 kilograms (750 lb). The lander included a micro rover planned to perform an in situ resource utilization demonstration.[8]

Mission timeline

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Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center shortly before the launch of Blue Ghost Mission 1 and Hakuto-R Mission 2

The lander completed successful vacuum testing in June 2024.[9] The rover, later to be integrated with the lander, was completed in August 2024.[10] In November 2024, the lander had arrived at the launch site in Florida.[11]

The mission launched on 15 January 2025 at 06:11:39 UTC (1:11:39 am EST, local time at the launch site) on a Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle.[11][12]

The lander successfully carried out a flyby of the Moon by 15 February, and was expected to land no earlier than 6 June.[2][13] The significant difference in landing dates between it and Blue Ghost, launched at the same time, is due to choice of a longer trajectory in order to save energy.[14]

The space probe successfully reached lunar orbit on 6 May.[15] On 28 May, the spacecraft performed an orbital control maneuver that brought it into a circular lunar orbit about 100 km above the surface.[16]

The mission was scheduled to land on Thursday, 5 June, at 19:17 UTC, assuming the primary landing spot in the middle of Mare Frigoris was chosen. If ispace decided to use one of the three backup landing sites, those attempts would occur on different times.[17][18]

On 5 June 2025, the lander failed to complete its landing, impacting the lunar surface.[19]

Landing site

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Mare Frigoris is the dark band extending from upper left to lower right

The intended landing site for the mission was in the far northern Mare Frigoris (60.5 degrees north latitude and 4.6 degrees west longitude[20]), a northern location still allowing continuous line-of-sight radio communication from Earth.[21] The three backup landing sites are also located in Mare Frigoris.[17]

This is the same general area of the Moon targeted by Hakuto-R Mission 1 in 2023. However, ispace did not attempt to land Hakuto-R 2 in Atlas Crater.[17]

Payloads

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Rover

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The mission included a 5 kg (11 lb) rover called TENACIOUS, designed and manufactured in Luxembourg, which was planned to explore the area around the landing site after being lowered to the lunar surface from the lander.[22] TENACIOUS is the first European-built lunar rover. It was developed with co-funding from the Luxembourg National Space Programme (managed by LSA, implemented by ESA).[3]

The rover was carrying Moonhouse, a Falu red miniature cottage artwork designed by Mikael Genberg [sv].[23][24][25][26]

Lander payloads

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In addition to the rover, the RESILIENCE lander carried payloads from Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Euglena Co., National Central University, Quantum Aerospace, and Bandai Namco Research Institute, Inc.[21][27][28] The lander also carried a memory disk developed by UNESCO, which contains 275 languages and cultural artifacts.[29]

Communication

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The European Space Agency (ESA) supported the mission's operations by providing communication services using its ESTRACK network of antennas.[3] The rover TENACIOUS was to be controlled from ispace Europe SA's control centre in Luxembourg. The commands were to be first sent to ESA's ESOC in Germany and then relayed through the ESTRACK antennas to the Moon.[3] Communications were lost just before the projected landing,[19] likely due to the lander crashing on the Moon.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Hakuto-R M1, M2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "ispace Announces Mission 2 Landing Date Set for June 6, 2025 (JST)". ispace, Inc. 4 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "ESA supports Moon mission carrying first European rover". www.esa.int. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  4. ^ "ispace Announces Mission 2 with Unveiling of Micro Rover Design". ispace. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  5. ^ Dickinson, David (6 June 2025). "Japanese Resilience Lander Crashes on the Moon". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (6 June 2025). "A Japanese lander crashed on the Moon after losing track of its location". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  7. ^ Dixit, Mrigakshi. "Japan's ispace aims for moon landing in 2024 with upgraded lander". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  8. ^ Alamalhodaei, Aria (16 November 2023). "Despite setbacks, ispace to launch second moon mission in Q4 2024". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  9. ^ "ispace RESILIENCE Lunar Lander Successfully Achieves Testing Milestone in Preparation for Mission 2". ispace. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  10. ^ "ispace's lunar rover arrives in Japan to prepare for 2nd space probe". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b "space Mission 2 RESILIENCE lunar lander Arrives in Florida for Final Launch Preparations". ispace. 27 November 2024.
  12. ^ @Firefly_Space (7 January 2025). "Buckle up! Our road trip to the Moon is set to launch at 1:11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 15" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "ispace Completes Success 5 of Mission 2 Milestones". ispace. 15 February 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  14. ^ Potter, Ned (24 February 2025). "The Many Planned Moon Landings of 2025 (and Beyond)". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  15. ^ Mike Wall (7 May 2025). "Japan's Resilience moon lander arrives in lunar orbit ahead of June 5 touchdown". Space.
  16. ^ Samantha Mathewson (2 June 2025). "Private Japanese spacecraft aims to land in the moon's 'Sea of Cold' this week". Space. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  17. ^ a b c Tariq Malik (3 June 2025). "What time will Japan's ispace Resilience probe land on the moon on June 5?". Space. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  18. ^ "ispace Updates Timing for Expected Touchdown on the Lunar Surface to 4:17 a.m. JST". ispace. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  19. ^ a b Luscombe, Richard (5 June 2025). "Second attempt by Japanese company to land on moon likely ends in failure". The Guardian.
  20. ^ "ispace Updates Timing for Expected Touchdown on the Lunar Surface to 4:17 a.m. JST". ispace. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  21. ^ a b "ispace Announces Launch Timing, RESILIENCE Lander Progress, and Planned Lunar Landing Zone During Mission 2 Update Press Conference". ispace-inc.com. 12 September 2024.
  22. ^ "ispace-EUROPE announces Completion of First European Designed, Manufactured, and Assembled Lunar Micro Rover". ispace-inc.com. 25 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Swedish wooden cottage on the way to the Moon". Sveriges Radio. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  24. ^ Elin Krell; Christoffer Söderman; Jonathan Sseruwagi (15 January 2025). "Västeråsarens månhus har åkt ut i rymden" (in Swedish). SVT Kultur. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  25. ^ Burrau, Bill (15 January 2025). "Nu har månhuset lämnat Jorden" (in Swedish). Ny teknik. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  26. ^ "ispace Announces Launch Timing, RESILIENCE Lander Progress, and Planned Lunar Landing Zone During Mission 2 Update Press Conference". ispace. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  27. ^ "Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 Launches to Moon". 16 January 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  28. ^ "Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1: Lunar Voyage". 17 January 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  29. ^ Garofalo, Meredith (8 May 2024). "Private lunar lander to carry 'memory disk' of 275 human languages to the moon in 2024". Space.com. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
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