KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (AFP) – One rocket, two missions: lunar landers built by United States (US) and Japanese companies launched their “rideshare” to the Moon yesterday, showcasing the private sector’s growing role in space exploration.
On board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida were Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience from Japan, which will also deploy a micro rover.
Both uncrewed missions aim to build on the success of Texas-based Intuitive Machines, which last year became the first company to successfully touch down on Earth’s celestial neighbour. Until recently, soft landings on the Moon were achieved only by a handful of well-funded national space agencies, starting with the Soviet Union in 1966.
Now, however, several emerging US companies are attempting to replicate this feat under NASA’s experimental Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme, designed to cut costs and stimulate a lunar economy.
The US plans to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon later this decade under the Artemis programme, leveraging commercial partners to deliver critical hardware at a fraction of the cost of government-led missions.
“Each milestone we complete will provide valuable data for future missions and ultimately keep the US and our international partners at the forefront of space exploration,” Firefly Aerospace Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jason Kim said on Tuesday.
“Firefly is a go for launch. Let’s go ghost riders in the sky!”
On the Japanese side, Tokyo-based ispace’s first attempt to land on the Moon ended in an unsalvageable “hard landing” in April 2023.
“It’s important to challenge ourselves again, after enduring failure and learning from it,” ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada said last week.
