SpaceX will help the Japanese startup to find water on the moon

SpaceX is helping another company reach the moon. Ispace, a Japanese start-up, aims to visit Earth's only natural satellite and Elon Musk is helping out.

Essentially, the Japanese firm wants to take the initiative in the search for ice water deposits on the surface of the moon and two missions are already planned. Now, in the case of both missions, currently scheduled for 2020 and 2021, the firm will use SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets.

Ispace was one of the organizations that watched Lunar Xprize, sponsored by Google. The firm had financed the Japanese team "Hakuto". However, the challenge of placing a mobile on the lunar surface was not suitable for anyone. It has been years and Google had to postpone the deadline more than once. Finally, the tech giant refused to extend the cash prize, which then rose to $ 25 million, as teams constantly struggled to launch their robots.

However, Ispace decided not to be overwhelmed by this failure. The first of two planned startup missions will have an orbital module. On the other hand, the second will consist of a pair of rovers, which will roll up to the surface of the moon.

Ispace believes that these upcoming lunar missions will give them the necessary boost to be taken seriously by governments and businesses when it comes to creating a lunar base.

Recently, SpaceX also announced that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa would be the first private person aboard the space company's next Big Falcon Rocket (BFR). He intends to fly in 2023, and take with him a group of artists in what could be a workshop on the moon.

"The Moon mission will be broadcast live in high definition, so you'll feel like you're there in real time less a few seconds for the speed of light," said Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX.