Two private lunar landers head for the moon in roundabout journey

15 January 2025, 10:34

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off
Double Moon Shot. Picture: PA

Firefly Aerospace from the US and the Japanese firm ispace shared the ride with SpaceX from the Kennedy Space Centre to save money.

In a two-for-one moonshot, SpaceX has launched a pair of lunar landers for US and Japanese companies looking to jump-start business on Earth’s nearest neighbour.

The two landers rocketed away in the middle of the night from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre, the latest in a stream of private spacecraft aiming for the moon.

They shared the ride to save money but parted company an hour into the flight exactly as planned, taking separate roundabout routes for the months-long journey.

A lunar lander graphic
(PA Graphics)

This is “take two” for the Tokyo-based ispace, whose first lander crashed into the moon two years ago.

This time, it has a rover on board with a scoop to gather up lunar dirt for study and plans to test potential food and water sources for future explorers.

Lunar newcomer, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace, is flying 10 experiments for Nasa, including a vacuum to gather dirt, a drill to measure the temperature below the surface and a device that could be used by future moonwalkers to keep the sharp, abrasive particles off their spacesuits and equipment.

The trajectory of the rocket
The rocket took off from Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida (AP)

Firefly’s Blue Ghost — named after a species of US Southeastern fireflies — should reach the moon first.

The 6ft 6in lander will attempt a touchdown in early March at Mare Crisium, a volcanic plain in the northern latitudes.

The slightly bigger ispace lander named Resilience will take four to five months to get there, targeting a touchdown in late May or early June at Mare Frigoris, even further north on the moon’s near side.

“We don’t think this is a race. Some people say ‘race to the moon’, but it’s not about the speed,” ispace’s founder Takeshi Hakamada said this week from Cape Canaveral.

Both Mr Hakamada and Firefly chief executive Jason Kim acknowledge the challenges still ahead, given the wreckage littering the lunar landscape.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A with a payload of a pair of lunar landers at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander should arrive in March(AP Photo/John Raoux)

Only five countries have successfully placed spacecraft on the moon since the 1960s: the former Soviet Union, the US, China, India and Japan.

Mr Kim said: “We’ve done everything we can on the design and the engineering.” Even so, he pinned an Irish shamrock to his jacket lapel Tuesday night for good luck.

The US remains the only nation to have landed astronauts on the lunar surface. Nasa’s Artemis programme, the successor to Apollo, aims to get astronauts back on the moon by the end of the decade.

Before that can happen, “we’re sending a lot of science and a lot of technology ahead of time to prepare for that,” Nasa’s science mission chief Nicky Fox said on the eve of launch.

A red rocket tail in the night sky
The slightly bigger ispace lander named Resilience will take four to five months to get to the moon (AP Photo/John Raoux)

If they ace their respective touchdowns, both spacecraft will spend two weeks operating in constant daylight, shutting down once darkness hits.

Once lowered onto the lunar surface, ispace’s 11lbs rover will stay near the lander, traveling up to hundreds of yards in circles at a speed of less than one inch per second. The rover has its own special delivery to drop off on the lunar dust: a toy-size red house designed by a Swedish artist.

Nasa is paying 101 million dollars (£82.7 million) to Firefly for the mission and another 44 million dollars (£36 million) for the experiments.

Mr Hakamada declined to divulge the cost of ispace’s rebooted mission with six experiments, saying it is less than the first mission, which topped 100 million dollars (£82 million).

Coming up by the end of February is the second moonshot for Nasa by Houston-based Intuitive Machines.

Last year, the company achieved the first American lunar touchdown in more than a half-century, landing sideways near the south pole, but still managing to operate.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Three Israeli Hostages Released As Part Of Ceasefire Deal

Abuse suffered by Hamas hostages during their 500 days in captivity revealed

Garda

Man arrested after several people reportedly stabbed in Dublin

The plane was forced to make an emergency landing

easyJet flight forced to make emergency landing after pilot collapses on board

Donald Trump has spoken to Vladimir Putin

Trump confirms he 'spoke to Putin about ending war in Ukraine' as Russian president 'wants to see people stop dying'

displaced Gazans walking toward Gaza City on January 27, 2025, after crossing the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops withdraw from key militarised corridor that splits Gaza in two as part of ceasefire deal

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on Thursday afternoon.

Mysterious death of British couple in French villa suspected murder-suicide as investigators consider new theories

David Schwimmer has called for Elon Musk to ban Kanye West from X

Friends star David Schwimmer calls for Kanye West to be banned from X over 'hate-filled, ignorant' remarks

The NTSB recovers the debris of a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk involved in a mid-air collision near DCA in Arlington, VA.

All major parts of DC plane and Black Hawk helicopter involved in mid-air collision recovered, investigators confirm

A Thai hostage who was freed from Hamas, Pongsak Thaenna, hugs a relative upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport

'We never gave up hope': Freed Thai hostages in tears of joy as they reunite with families after more than a year

'Make Europe Great Again' Rally In Madrid

'Make Europe Great Again': Far-right European political leaders praise Trump at Madrid meeting

Freed Palestinian prisoners are greeted by a crowd as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

Emotional scenes in West Bank and Gaza as Palestinians reunited with their families after release from Israeli prisons

Israeli hostage reunited with his family.

Emotional moment Israeli hostages reunite with families after being paraded on stage by Hamas

Police officers hold back protesters trying to block the road at the rally.

Protesters clash with police as thousands rally outside proposed site for new Chinese ‘mega-embassy’ in London

Hollyoaks star and country singer thought to be son of British couple shot dead in French villa ‘by UK gangsters’

Hollyoaks star breaks silence over death of mum found dead in French villa with her husband

The Government has ordered Apple to allow it to access encrypted files uploaded to the cloud by any Apple user worldwide, it has been reported.

UK Government orders Apple to give it access to users’ encrypted data in 'unprecedented attack on privacy'

The wreckage of the small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska has been found

Missing Alaska Bering Air plane found with all 10 people on board confirmed dead