Ispace Welcomes New Year With Achievements In 2023

Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada with micro rover robot (photo: twitter @ispace_inc)

JAKARTA As the opening of the beginning of the year, CEOispaceTakeshi Hakamada reminded several achievements in 2023, starting from the launch of HAKUTO-R to the receipt of grants.

At the end of 2022, ispace partnered with SpaceX to launch the HAKUTO-R Mission 1. Initially, the launch went smoothly without any problems. However, on April 26 last year, the landing did not go smoothly and the HAKUTO-R fell to the Moon.

Although ispace failed to land HAKUTO-R to the surface of the Moon, Hakamada said that his company remains determined in launching its next missions. In the fourth quarter of this year, ispace will launch the HAKUTO-R Mission 2.

The lander, named RESILIENCE as a sign of revival, will carry a micro explorer developed by our subsidiary in Europe, EUROPE SA's ispace, to the Moon, "explained Hakamada, quoted from the company's official release.

Meanwhile, in April last year, Hakamada said that his company was listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market. A few months later, in October to be precise, ispace received a grant from state institutions.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has donated a Small Business Innovation Research fund of US$80 million or around Rp. 1.2 trillion. This fund is part of a demonstration of lander development and operations on the Moon.

With this fund, ispace is increasingly determined to welcome new missions in 2024. Hopefully, all the missions they carry out, including HAKUTO-R Mission 2, can run smoothly without any obstacles.

This year is a new year of challenges because we are making various preparations for Mission 2 to Mission 6 in parallel. However, we will continue to dare to face new challenges and devote ourselves to these challenges," concluded Hakamada.