ispace
Lunar lander developer offering commercial Moon transportation and surface services
Overview
Company Overview
ispace is a global lunar exploration company developing commercial lunar landers and related services to enable routine access to the Moon's surface. Founded in 2010 by Takeshi Hakamada, the company operates entities in Japan, the United States, and Europe, positioning itself as a key player in the emerging cislunar economy.
The company's business model centers on providing payload delivery services to government and commercial customers seeking lunar surface access. ispace designs, manufactures, and operates lunar landers capable of transporting scientific instruments, rovers, and other cargo to targeted landing sites. Beyond transportation, the company is expanding into lunar communications infrastructure and surface operations support.
ispace went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in April 2023, becoming one of the first pure-play lunar companies to list publicly. Despite setbacks with its first two landing attempts—Mission 1 in April 2023 and Mission 2 in June 2025—the company continues to advance its lander technology and has secured multiple customer contracts. The firm is developing an upgraded ULTRA-class lander variant with increased payload capacity and has announced plans for a lunar communications satellite constellation. With missions planned aboard Japan's H3 rocket and SpaceX's Starship, ispace aims to establish a sustainable commercial lunar transportation service.
Products & Vehicles
Lunar Landers
ispace develops a series of lunar lander vehicles designed for commercial payload delivery. The initial lander design has evolved through Mission 1 (Hakuto-R Mission 1) and Mission 2 (Resilience), both of which encountered anomalies during landing attempts. The company announced a redesigned lander architecture in March 2026 to address technical challenges identified in previous missions.
### ULTRA-Class Lander
Introduced in 2024, the ULTRA variant represents ispace's next-generation lunar lander with expanded capabilities. This larger vehicle is designed to carry heavier payloads and support more ambitious surface operations. Mission 3, scheduled for launch in July 2026 aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3 rocket, will utilize the ULTRA-class design. The company has also contracted with SpaceX to transport ULTRA-class lander payloads aboard Starship lunar missions, enabling delivery of significantly larger cargo masses than the baseline lander.
Lunar Communications Services
In March 2026, ispace unveiled plans for a lunar communications satellite system to provide data relay services for surface missions. This service is intended to support both ispace's own landers and third-party customers operating on the lunar surface, addressing communication blackouts during lunar night and far-side operations.
Rovers
ispace Europe developed and delivered its first rover payload, which flew on Mission 2. The company continues to develop mobility systems for lunar surface exploration in support of customer missions.
Track Record
Heritage and Milestones
ispace traces its origins to team Hakuto, a competitor in the Google Lunar X Prize competition. After the prize concluded without a winner, founder Takeshi Hakamada formally established ispace in 2010 to pursue commercial lunar exploration.
2016-2019: The company expanded internationally, establishing ispace Europe in Luxembourg and ispace U.S. to pursue regional opportunities and partnerships.
2023: ispace became the first lunar exploration company to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in April 2023, raising capital for its mission program. On April 25, 2023, Mission 1 (Hakuto-R) launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and reached lunar orbit but was lost during the landing attempt due to altitude estimation errors.
2024: The company secured agreements with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch Mission 3 aboard Japan's H3 rocket and announced the ULTRA-class lander development program.
2025: Mission 2, carrying the Resilience lander, launched in late 2024 and attempted landing on June 5, 2025. The mission was presumed lost after communications were not established post-landing. Despite the setback, ispace secured additional customer contracts and continued development work.
2026: ispace announced a redesigned lander architecture in March 2026 incorporating lessons from the first two missions. The company also unveiled lunar communications services and contracted with SpaceX for Starship lunar lander missions to deliver larger ULTRA-class payloads. Mission 3 remains scheduled for July 2026 launch.
ispace Europe established a track record by delivering rover hardware for Mission 2 and has been awarded contracts by the European Space Agency.
Roadmap
Roadmap
Mission 3 (July 2026): ispace plans to launch its redesigned ULTRA-class lunar lander aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3 rocket, targeting a mid-2026 landing attempt. This mission incorporates design changes based on lessons learned from the previous two landing attempts.
Lunar Communications Constellation: The company announced plans in March 2026 to develop and deploy a lunar communications satellite system to provide data relay services for surface operations. Deployment timeline has not been publicly specified.
Starship Lunar Missions: ispace has contracted with SpaceX to deliver ULTRA-class lander payloads aboard future Starship lunar landing missions, enabling transport of significantly larger cargo masses to the lunar surface. Mission dates have not been announced.
Engine Development: The company is working on a new propulsion system for future lander variants, though development has faced delays as reported in February 2026. ispace has stated it is evaluating alternative engine options to maintain schedule flexibility.