Today, two Canadian technologies have launched to the Moon onboard the ispace Mission 1. 🌕Canadensys and Mission Control Space Services will test their cutting-edge technologies during this mission, set to land on the Moon in spring 2023. Read more: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/funding-programs/programs/leap/
Mission Milestone 2 ✅!By completing launch and separation from the @SpaceX rocket, “Success 2” has been achieved, meaning the Series 1 lander has demonstrated its ability to withstand the extreme conditions of launch.Read more: ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=4128#ispace #hakuto_r
After separation from the rocket, our Ops Team in our Mission Control Center confirmed communication with the lander, utilizing the Estrack ground station network of the European Space Agency (@ESA). Operations to establish a stable attitude and power generation are in progress.
Communication has been established between the #Hakuto_R lunar lander and @ispace_inc's #MissionControl in Tokyo, Japan 📡Our 35m deep space antenna in New Norcia, Australia, locked on after launch and began tracking the mission as it passed overhead.More info from #ispace 👇
twitter.com/planet4589/status/1602067552330465282QuoteFalcon 9 stage 2 from Hakuto-R M1 launch cataloged as 54698 in its SECO-1 orbit of 167 x 297 km x 29.0 deg. JPL Horizons gives expected Lunar Flashlight orbit of 290 x 1118971 km x 29.1 deg; Hakuto-R M1 and Falcon 9 2nd stage current orbits assumed to be similar.https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1602068092363866113QuoteCurrent altitude of all three objects is already around 149,000 km
Falcon 9 stage 2 from Hakuto-R M1 launch cataloged as 54698 in its SECO-1 orbit of 167 x 297 km x 29.0 deg. JPL Horizons gives expected Lunar Flashlight orbit of 290 x 1118971 km x 29.1 deg; Hakuto-R M1 and Falcon 9 2nd stage current orbits assumed to be similar.
Current altitude of all three objects is already around 149,000 km
While initial checkout operations continue in ispace’s Mission Control Center (MCC), we have also received the first images taken by our lander-mounted camera!This is an image of the Earth about 19 hours after separation from the launch vehicle.
Our lander is moving away from the Earth and heading towards the Moon!The lander continues to maintain a stable attitude and power supply.
What looks like a crescent Moon here, is actually the Earth.In the lower right, you can see a plate showing our HAKUTO-R corporate partners (as of March 2022).https://ispace-inc.com/hakuto-r/eng/partners/
After completion of our customer payload check-outs, we plan to share the achievement of Success 3 in our Mission 1 Milestones with you!Next, once the optimal timing for the initial orbit control maneuver has been set, we will get ready for Success 4!#ispace #lunarquest
#HAKUTO-R M1 AOS this evening. Soon we'll have a look at the residuals of the Doppler and see if it reveals anything new and exciting 🤔 BTW - It's now beyond lunar distance, so minus a 'high' Doppler rate should be easily detectable on the Moon's surface w/ small antennas.
ispace Successfully Captures Images and Obtains Data from the Lander's Onboard Camera in Space14 Dec, 2022TOKYO—December 14, 2022—ispace, a global lunar exploration company, is pleased to announce that it has successfully taken images and transmitted them to the HAKUTO-R Mission Control Center (MCC). ispace’s camera, located on top of the lander, will continue to record images throughout the mission. The lander continues to maintain a stable attitude and power supply.Along with the company’s lunar transportation service, which brings customers payloads to the lunar surface, the lunar data service is expected to become an important revenue stream. In the medium term, ispace plans to collect and process various lunar data (image data, environmental data, telemetry, resource information, etc.) and provide them to our clients for use in lunar surface development. The fact that data was recorded by an ispace-owned camera and then successfully transmitted to our MCC represents the first step towards realizing ispace’s planned data business. This technical milestone establishes the foundation for ispace’s future data business operations.We also consider this to be a major milestone from a technological standpoint. In addition to the in-house development of an optical camera that can withstand the space environment, many of the lander’s own technological elements were also involved in the acquisition of this image data, including attitude control to aim the camera at the target and communications to transmit the image data to Earth.ispace has further successfully acquired images taken by one of the cameras of the Canadensys lunar imaging system: one of our Mission 1 payloads.The imaging system is mounted on the sides of the lander and will periodically take images throughout the mission.The lander is navigating about 440,000 km from the Earth as of 16:00 on December 14, 2022 (JST) and has already passed through the lunar orbit once. The customer payloads being transported by Mission 1 are currently being checked out individually, with some already confirmed. We plan to share the achievement of Success 3 in our Mission 1 Milestones after completion of our all-customer payload check-outs.Ongoing operations are being carried out to determine the optimal timing for the initial orbit control maneuver, which is planned to result in the achievement of Success 4. ispace will share updates on HAKUTO-R Mission 1 as they become available.
Image of the Earth about 19 hours after separation from the launch vehicle. The shape resembling a crescent Moon in this image is Earth, partially lit by the Sun. The lower right part of the image shows a plate, containing HAKUTO-R corporate partner logos (partners as of March 2022).
Image showing the Earth and the launch vehicle’s second stage, taken about 2 minutes after the lander separated from the rocket.
Position of the camera
Initial checkout operations in our Mission Control Center (MCC) continue, and, in the meantime, we are pleased to share another image from onboard! Pictured is the Earth and the @SpaceX launch vehicle's second stage, taken about 2 minutes after separation.
This image was taken by one of our M1 payloads--the @Canadensys1 lunar imaging system. This imaging system is mounted on the sides of the lander and will take images throughout the mission.
ispace’s HAKUTO-R is on its way to the Moon, but onboard the private lunar lander is an adorable SORA-Q rover designed by JAXA. It is deployed as ball, pops open to form two wheels and a camera head. Plus, it has a tail. A twin is also going to fly on SLIM as spacecraft paparazzi
ispace Successfully Achieves “Success 4” of the Mission 1 Milestones15 Dec, 2022TOKYO—December 15, 2022—ispace, a global lunar exploration company, is pleased to announce that it has successfully complete the first orbital control maneuver, setting the lander on a course towards the Moon and verifying operation of the main propulsion system, as well as the related guidance, control, and navigation system. By completing these activities, “Success 4” of the Mission 1 Milestones has been achieved.The lander continues to maintain a stable attitude and power supply while completing the first orbit control maneuver at 12:00 on December 15 (Japan Standard Time). The lander is currently at a distance of approximately 550,000 km from the Earth and it will reach 1.4 million km around January 20 —the farthest point from Earth during Mission 1. After having reached the farthest point, the lander is planned to carry out an orbit control maneuver, setting it on its way towards a lunar orbit.Further, ispace considers this to be a major milestone from a technological standpoint.Capabilities that are essential to operate in lunar orbit and on the lunar surface were acquired, including on-orbit operation of the main propulsion system with large thrust, orbit control algorithms, flight planning technology to inject the lander into the scheduled orbit, and orbit evaluation technology after the orbit control maneuver was executed.The company intends to accumulate a great deal of experience and knowledge through the achievement of this milestone, which can then be applied to future milestones.The customer payloads on board Mission 1 are currently being checked out individually, with some already confirmed. Although Success 4 was completed prior to Success 3 in our Mission 1 Milestones, we plan to share the achievement of Success 3 after all customer payload check-outs have been completed. The order of achieved milestones occurred due to adjustments to the operations plan—no critical issues were identified at this time.ispace will share further updates on HAKUTO-R Mission 1 as they become available.Mission 1 MilestonesFor Mission 1, ispace has set 10 milestones between launch and landing, and aims to achieve the success criteria established for each of these milestones. Recognizing the possibility of an anomaly during the mission, the results will be weighed and evaluated against the criteria and incorporated into future missions already in development between now and 2025. Mission 2 and Mission 3, which also will contribute to NASA’s Artemis Program, will further improve the maturity of ispace’s technology and business model. Future announcements on the progress of milestone achievement are expected to be released once attained.
ispace Completes Success 3 of Mission 1 Milestones16 Dec, 2022Payload Check Outs and Orbital Control Maneuver Represent Completion of First 4 milestonesTOKYO—December 16, 2022—ispace, a global lunar exploration company, announced today that it has completed all check outs of the customer payloads carried on board the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander. By completing the check outs and confirming that there are no deficiencies in the customer payloads, ispace has completed Success 3 of its Mission 1 milestones.With the completion of the payload check outs and the previously completed orbital control maneuver, ispace has now achieved the first four milestones of its Mission 1 milestones. Milestone 4 was completed at 12:00 on Dec. 15, 2022 (Japan Standard Time) and subsequently announced.The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lander, which was successfully launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:38 a.m., Saturday, December 11, 2022 (U.S. Eastern Time), carries 7 payloads. The upper part of the lander is designed to accommodate customer payloads including experimental equipment and multiple lunar rovers. This area is designed to protect payloads from the harsh environment of space and is maintained at a constant temperature range, allowing various activities to be carried out, depending on customer needs. The lander provides power and communication with Earth, making it possible to carry out these research and development activities—from the time of lander startup, until the end of operations.After a steady operational state of the lander was established, customer payloads were checked out individually. ispace confirmed the temperature, attitude, power supply, and communications connectivity of each customer payload, and confirmed that the lander is capable of operating the payloads as planned. As of today, all confirmation processes have been completed.After completing the first orbital control maneuver, the lander continues to maintain a stable attitude and power supply. The next phase of the mission involves nominal cruise and further orbital control maneuvers to be conducted during a 1-month cruise period. Once this period elapses, the Mission 5 milestone success will be achieved, and an announcement made.(Update) Camera PositionA previously released image in the December 14 press release misidentified the location of a camera on the side of the lander. The image below updates that information.Mission 1 MilestonesFor Mission 1, ispace has set 10 milestones between launch and landing, and aims to achieve the success criteria established for each of these milestones. Recognizing the possibility of an anomaly during the mission, the results will be weighed and evaluated against the criteria and incorporated into future missions already in development between now and 2025. Mission 2 and Mission 3, which also will contribute to NASA’s Artemis Program, will further improve the maturity of ispace’s technology and business model. Future announcements on progress of milestone achievement are expected to be released once attained.
Our HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander--operated from our Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo--continues to maintain a stable attitude and power supply on its journey to the Moon. #ispace #hakuto_r #lunarquest
Our full-scale model of the M1 lander, however, remains here on Earth, and is on display for a limited time in the atrium on the first floor of Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower until the end of January 2023! If you happen to be in the area, please stop by for a visit.
