Japan's ispace, US NASA Launch Two Modules to Moon
The Japanese space company ispace has launched a mission to the moon called Hakuto-R Mission 2. Its module was launched on 15 January at 8:11 a.m. by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which will also deliver the Blue Ghost module, created by Firefly Aerospace in collaboration with NASA, to the Moon. This was reported by NASA and ispace.
The purpose of the NASA mission is to deliver cargo to study the lunar surface and other components. The lunar landing is scheduled for 2 March.
This will be the first mission of the Blue Ghost lander, which was created and developed by Firefly Aerospace. The module's first mission is to deliver scientific equipment to the Moon.
Once the cargo is on the Moon, NASA will begin testing and demonstrating drilling technologies and collecting samples of regolith (lunar rocks and soil). They also want to demonstrate and test a global navigation satellite system, radiation-resistant computing, and methods of mitigating lunar dust on the Moon.
The new mission aims to move 10 NASA cargoes to the moon, which, according to the agency, will help humanity better understand planetary processes and evolution, search for water and other resources, and support long-term lunar exploration in preparation for the first mission to Mars.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost module will take 8 hours to enter Earth orbit, where it will remain for 25 days. Then the module will transit to lunar orbit for 4 days, where it will stay for another 16 days. NASA and Firefly Aerospace expect the module to operate on the lunar surface for 14 days, which corresponds to one lunar day. Mission updates can be found on the official Firefly Aerospace website.
Unlike the Blue Ghost M1, which is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon on 2 March 2025, the Hakuto-R M2 mission will stay in space longer. The RESILIENCE module from ispace will repeat the route of the first mission, which ended unsuccessfully due to landing problems. The module is expected to reach the lunar surface in about four months.
The RESILIENCE lunar lander will carry commercial cargo.