Japan's ispace launches commercial moon lander, in potential world first
A Japanese space startup launched a spacecraft to the moon on Sunday after several delays, a step toward what would be a first for the nation and for a private company.
ispace Inc's HAKUTO-R mission took off without incident from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after two postponements caused by inspections of its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
More than a hundred people at a viewing party in Tokyo roared in applause when the rocket fired and lifted into the dark skies.
"I'm so happy. After repeated delays, it's good that we had a proper launch today," said Yuriko Takeda, a 28-year old worker at an electronics company who joined the gathering.
"I have this image of the American flag from the Apollo landing, so while this is just the launch, the fact that it's a private company going there with a rover is a really meaningful step."
The national space agencies of the United States, Russia and China have achieved soft landings on Earth's nearest neighbour in the past half century but no companies have.
Mission success would also be a milestone in space cooperation between Japan and the United States at a time when China is becoming increasingly competitive and rides on Russian rockets are no longer available in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It would also cap a space-filled few days for Japan, after billionaire Yusaku Maezawa revealed on Friday the eight crew members he hopes to take on a SpaceX flyby of the moon as soon as next year.
The name HAKUTO refers to the white rabbit that lives on the moon in Japanese folklore, in contrast to the Western idea of a man in the moon. The project was a finalist in the Google Lunar XPRIZE before being revived as a commercial venture.
Next year is the Year of the Rabbit in the
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