Moonshot firm ispace upbeat as Trump keeps Artemis lunar missions with Japan

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12/02/2025 09:22

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      US keeps Artemis partnership despite Musk influence
    

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      CEO expects NASA's commercial moon program to stay on
track
    

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      Japan's ispace to make second lunar touchdown try in
May-June
    

  
    By Kantaro  Komiya
       TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Tokyo-based moon exploration
company ispace  9348.T  is heartened by signs the United States
and Japan will remain on course for joint lunar missions, its
CEO said on Wednesday, amid growing uncertainties in U.S. space
policies under Trump 2.0.
    The view by ispace chief executive Takeshi Hakamada came
after a meeting last weekend between U.S. President Donald Trump
and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reaffirmed a "strong
partnership" for future Artemis moon surface exploration.
    While the second Trump term's space priorities remain
unclear, given the influence of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk who has a
greater focus on Mars exploration, the sign of continuity in
international programming could have reassured Artemis partners.
    Europe, Canada and the United Arab Emirates are also
partners in NASA's Artemis programme, which is supported by
rocket launches by private companies and aims to get astronauts
back on the moon by 2028. 
    "We think the CLPS should stay on track," Hakamada told an
earnings briefing, referring to NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload
Services program that has assisted private moonshot projects.
    Launched last month, ispace's Resilience lander will
approach the moon in about three months for the company's second
lunar touchdown, after its inaugural attempt failed in 2023.
    For its third mission, ispace plans to launch a lander
carrying scientific instruments to the far side of the moon in
2026 as part of CLPS.
    A commercial moon race is picking up pace as a series of
NASA-backed American companies send unmanned landers this year.
    Texas-based Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which shared a
SpaceX rocket ride with Resilience, will reach the moon in early
March. Intuitive Machines  LUNR.O , which last year achieved the
world's first commercial lunar landing, plans to launch another
mission later this month.
    For the financial year ending in March, ispace expected to
record a net loss of 10.8 billion yen ($70.3 million). It will
turn profitable "within a few years", CFO Jumpei Nozaki said.
    After a blistering debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and
hitting an all time high of 2,373 yen in April 2023, ispace
shares have stagnated, closing on Wednesday at 650 yen.

($1 = 153.6300 yen)

 (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
 ((kantaro.komiya@thomsonreuters.com; X: @kantarokomiya;))