ispace, inc.

Expand our planet. Expand our future.
ispace is a lunar exploration company with a vision to extend human presence into outer space.
Our vision is to expand our living sphere and create a sustainable world.
The Moon’s water resources represent untapped potential. Our aspiration is to explore and develop these water resources and spearhead a space-based economy.
Water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen to produce fuel,　so we are mapping lunar resources to accelerate the pace of space development.
Imagine the Moon supporting construction, energy, steel procurement,　communications, transportation, agriculture, medicine, and tourism…
We believe that by 2040 the Moon will support a population of 1,000, with 10,000 people visiting every year.
ispace will be instrumental in supporting life on Earth through space-based infrastructure.

PROJECT
ispace aims to be a vehicle for companies on Earth to access new business opportunities on the Moon and ultimately incorporate the Moon into Earth’s economic and living sphere. 
Originating from the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, in which ispace managed Team HAKUTO, one of the 5 finalists in the competition, ispace is now currently working on achieving the world’s first commercial lunar exploration program, named “HAKUTO-R” which consists of ispace’s first two lunar missions.

• HAKUTO

ispace was the managing company of Team HAKUTO, one of the 5 finalists in the Google Lunar XPRIZE Competition, which was organized by the XPRIZE Foundation and sponsored by Google, called for privately funded teams to be the first to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon, travel 500 meters, and transmit back to Earth high-definition video and images.

• M1

The first mission will perform a soft landing on the Moon. This will be the first privately-led Japanese mission to land on the lunar surface.

• M2

The second mission will perform a soft landing and deploy a rover for surface exploration and data collection on the Moon.

• M3

From Mission 3 and beyond, we will increase the frequency of lunar landings and rover expeditions to transport customer payloads to the Moon. 
Our landers will deploy swarms of rovers to the lunar surface to pioneer the discovery and development of lunar resources, enabling the steady development of lunar industry and human presence on the Moon.

TECHNOLOGY
Our small, robotic lunar landers and lunar rovers are designed to provide low-cost, high-frequency transportation of customer payloads to the Moon. 
By leveraging Japanese manufacturing expertise in the miniaturization of high-tech goods, we are able to dramatically reduce weight and scale. 
And by challenging conventional processes and adopting agile development methods, we can speed up development and reduce costs, while maintaining quality. All of this effort minimizes the clients' burden and provides more flexible transport services.

• Lunar Rover

The smallest and lightest planetary rover in the world.
Based on the original infrastructure of SORATO—the tested- and flight-ready rover designed by Team HAKUTO over the greater part of a decade out of by Tohoku University’s Space Robotics Lab, developed to compete in the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition—ispace’s small and lightweight rover is equipped with four wheels, mobility to traverse difficult terrain, 360° high-definition video and photo capabilities, the ability to conduct detailed terrain mapping, and capacity to carry customer payloads to the lunar surface. 
The rover will continuously undergo advancements in artificial intelligence and swarm robotic functions in order to communicate with other rovers and map and collect data about lunar resources. Eventually, the rovers will be instrumental in extracting lunar resources.