• Ispace's Resilience lander successfully entered lunar orbit on May 6, 2025, after a nine-minute burn of its main thruster.
• The landing is scheduled for no earlier than June 5, targeting Mare Frigoris, and aims to be the second successful landing for Japan after SLIM.
• The lander carries multiple payloads, including the Tenacious micro rover and a Moonhouse art project, and the mission aims to advance lunar exploration and resource utilization.

Japanese company ispace announced that its Resilience lunar lander entered lunar orbit on May 6, 2025, at 4:41 p.m. Eastern time. This achievement marks the seventh of ten milestones for the HAKUTO-R M2 mission, culminating in a landing attempt targeted for June 5 within Mare Frigoris. The mission seeks to demonstrate technologies and explore lunar resources, following ispace's previous landing attempt failure in April 2023. The Resilience lander was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January 2025.

• What: Ispace's Resilience lander has entered lunar orbit in preparation for a landing attempt. The lander aims to soft-land on the moon and conduct experiments and resource assessment.
• Who: Key players include ispace, SpaceX (launch provider), Firefly Aerospace, NASA, and Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. Takeshi Hakamada is the CEO of ispace.
• When: The lander entered lunar orbit on May 6, 2025. The landing is scheduled for June 5, 2025. Ispace's first landing attempt failed in April 2023.
• Where: The Resilience lander is targeting Mare Frigoris on the moon. The low-energy trajectory took it 1.1 million kilometers from Earth before returning to lunar orbit.

Ispace's Resilience mission signifies a crucial step in private lunar exploration. Successfully entering lunar orbit demonstrates the company's improved capabilities following the failure of its first landing attempt. The mission's diverse payloads, including the Tenacious rover and the Moonhouse art project, highlight the growing interest in lunar resources and cultural engagement. The collaboration with NASA underscores the potential for public-private partnerships in advancing space exploration. The selection of Mare Frigoris as a landing site suggests a focus on exploring the moon's northern hemisphere and its resources. The low-energy trajectory shows a strategic approach to minimizing fuel consumption.

The countdown to lunar landing has now officially begun.

First and foremost, we are extremely pleased that the Resilience lander successfully reached lunar orbit as planned today. We will continue to proceed with careful operations and thorough preparations to ensure the success of the lunar landing.

For me, the first time I really engaged with space was through ‘Star Wars.’ I was around 9 or 10 when I saw the original trilogy on TV. I was really inspired by the cool starships and robots. If I look back, that was definitely the spark for me.

Ispace's Resilience lunar lander has successfully entered lunar orbit, marking a significant milestone towards a landing attempt in early June. This mission, carrying various payloads and technology demonstrations, aims to advance lunar exploration and resource utilization. Following a previous failed landing attempt, ispace is focused on ensuring a successful touchdown in Mare Frigoris. The outcome of this mission will significantly impact the future of private lunar endeavors and collaborations with space agencies like NASA.