Japan’s private Moon mission ends in presumed crash during final descent

Japan’s private lunar mission came to an abrupt end on June 6, as the unmanned Resilience spacecraft was presumed to have crashed during its final descent to the moon.

The mission, launched by Tokyo-based startup ispace, aimed to make history by becoming the first private company outside the United States to achieve a controlled soft landing on the lunar surface, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

According to ispace, the Resilience lander began its final descent as planned, successfully firing its main engine to decelerate. Mission control reported the spacecraft’s position was “nearly vertical” before contact was suddenly lost.

The company now believes the spacecraft did not slow down enough to make a soft landing. “Based on the currently available data... it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing,” ispace said in a statement. The firm added that restoring communication with the lander was unlikely, leading to the decision to conclude the mission.

As of 8:00 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers have determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored and therefore completing Success 9 is not achievable. It has been decided to conclude the mission.

“Given that there is currently no… pic.twitter.com/IoRUfggoiQ

— ispace (@ispace_inc) June 6, 2025

In a poignant moment before ending the livestream, the announcers urged viewers to “never quit the lunar quest.”

The loss was deeply felt by the 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors, and government officials gathered to witness the landing. Less than two minutes before touchdown, the room fell silent as contact was lost.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed support on X, writing, “Expectations for ispace will not waver.”

This marks ispace’s second attempt to land on the moon, following a similar mission two years ago that also ended in a crash. CEO Takeshi Hakamada told reporters he took the failure seriously and planned to analyse the results carefully to inform future efforts. “We have a strong will to move on,” he said.

The Resilience spacecraft carried a four-wheeled rover developed by ispace’s Luxembourg subsidiary, along with five external payloads valued at around $16 million. Its target landing site was Mare Frigoris, a plain approximately 900 kilometres (560 miles) from the moon’s north pole.

Soft lunar landings remain a complex challenge due to the moon’s rugged surface. So far, only five nations — Russia, the United States, China, India, and Japan — have successfully landed softly on the moon.

Recently, private companies have entered the lunar exploration race, with ispace poised to be the third private entity to achieve a successful moon landing.

The mission also intended to collect two lunar soil samples, which it planned to sell to NASA for $5,000 (€4,373).

In January, Resilience shared a SpaceX rocket launch alongside Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander, which successfully touched down in March. However, not all private missions have succeeded; US-based Intuitive Machines experienced a failed landing attempt in March of this year.

By Tamilla Hasanova