Japanese space company ispace has invested over $40 million in its U.S. subsidiary, ispace technologies U.S., to capitalize on the increasing investment from NASA and the Pentagon in lunar technologies. The CEO, Takeshi Hakamada, emphasized the company’s strong commitment to the U.S. market, with plans to continue expanding its investment as part of their strategic commitment to contribute to government missions. Operating out of Denver, Colorado, the U.S. subsidiary currently employs more than eighty people and is headed by Ronald J. Garan, a former NASA astronaut.
ispace has also announced the development of a new lander, Apex 1.0, which will replace the previous iteration, Series 2. Apex 1.0 is specifically designed for short trajectory flights to the moon and will have a capacity of up to 300 kilograms, a tenfold increase compared to ispace’s first lander. Scheduled for ispace’s third mission, the lander will be delivered to the far side of the moon in partnership with Draper Laboratory. However, due to the transition from the Series 2 design to Apex 1.0, the mission date has been delayed from 2025 to 2026.
Under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, ispace is part of Team Draper, a consortium that won a $73 million contract. The consortium aims to land a commercial lander on the moon, competing against other companies such as Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and Astrobotic. The enhanced capabilities of Apex 1.0 will enable Team Draper and ispace-U.S. to accommodate sensitive payloads and target a technically challenging location on the far side of the moon for Mission 3, offering significant advancements compared to ispace’s previous lander experience.