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last mo.

ispace’s Resilience lander readies for June 5 Mare Frigoris touchdown

Engineers have completed orbital trims ahead of the landing, paving the way for deployment of Europe’s first lunar rover in a demonstration of sustainable exploration technologies.

rendering of the ispace Resilience lunar lander and rover on the moon
The Ispace Tenacious rover (top) is seen carried by the Resilience lunar lander at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tsukuba Space Center in September 2024.
Japan's ispace to land Resilience on the Moon: When will the landing happen?
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Overview

  • The Resilience lander will attempt to touch down on June 5 at 3:17 p.m. Eastern in the Mare Frigoris region after engineers lowered its orbit to 100 km altitude.
  • ESA’s Estrack network of deep-space antennas is providing communication links for final commands during descent, ensuring continuous telemetry reception.
  • Scientific payloads include a water electrolyzer, an algae-based food production module plus a deep-space radiation monitor to advance sustainable lunar exploration.
  • Upon landing, ispace’s European subsidiary will deploy the Tenacious rover to deliver a 3D-printed art project called Moonhouse, collecting lunar regolith under NASA’s commercial resource agreement.
  • Success would mark ispace’s second lunar landing attempt, setting the stage for two larger landers planned for 2027 with expanded commercial payloads.