SpaceX will launch the lunar missions of the Japanese startup

A Japanese startup called Ispace is spinning for the moon and SpaceX is going to help. The company wants to lead the search for large deposits of ice on the lunar surface, and two missions are planned to achieve this. The two missions, currently scheduled for 2020 and 2021, will fly on SpaceX rockets.

Ispace was among the companies competing for Lunar Xprize, supported by Google – he funded the Japanese team "Hakuto". The challenge of landing a rover on the moon dragged on for years as the list of competitors dwindled until the last team failed to secure their place on an Indian rocket. Ispace was not as far, but it was in the last five. Google has refused to extend the prize money (totaling $ 25 million) in March this year after postponing the deadline several times, teams having struggled to launch their robots.

Ispace does not give up this failure. The first of its two planned lunar missions will consist of an orbital module. The second will be more ambitious with a pair of rovers going up to the surface. These are primarily technology demonstration missions rather than true ice-breakers.

SpaceX has, in the past, launched the Falcon Heavy as a means of carrying payloads to the moon and beyond. However, it seems increasingly likely that the test flight, certainly impressive, earlier this year, could be the only high-flying launch of Falcon Heavy. The Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a proven launch vehicle capable of carrying average payloads in orbit, and SpaceX is working hard to make the larger and more flexible BFR ready to support all future missions. .

In addition to Ispace launches, SpaceX plans to launch a more exciting lunar mission in the coming years. The company recently announced that Japanese fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa had purchased all seats on a forthcoming lunar orbit tour of BFR. Maezawa intends to coach several artists in order to promote peace in the world. This launch is tentatively scheduled for 2023.

Ispace hopes that these first robotic missions will give it a boost as governments and companies begin to seriously consider the creation of lunar bases. Someone will have to locate water sources and Ispace wants to be the only one to do so.

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