Japan provides up to $80 mln subsidy to moonshot startup ispace (updated)

Ispace

20/10/2023 06:06

(Adds detail from ispace's corporate disclosure, background)
    By Kantaro  Komiya
       TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Japan will provide a subsidy
of up to 12 billion yen ($80 million) to moon exploration
startup ispace  9348.T  as part of a grant programme for
innovative ventures, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said
on Friday.
    Tokyo-based ispace aims to launch its second moon lander
next year and start a NASA-sponsored moonshot in 2026, following
its failed first lunar landing attempt in April this year.
    The Japanese government's grant will be used to develop a
new spacecraft, tentatively called "Series 3", which aims to
carry more than 100-kg loads to the moon's surface by 2027,
ispace said in a corporate disclosure.
    The grant would not have any material impact on the
company's near-term earnings forecast since it relates to a
future mission, ispace added. The company has expected to book a
net loss of 4.5 billion yen in the current financial period
ending in March 2024.
($1 = 149.8700 yen)

 (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Christopher Cushing,
Robert Birsel)
 ((Kantaro.Komiya@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @kantarokomiya;))