?Japanese moon transport company Ispace said Wednesday it would start a new, lower-cost lunar cargo business using the Starship heavy rocket and moon lander developed by Elon Musk¡¯s SpaceX.
Tokyo-based Ispace has bought 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of capacity for $50 million ?on a Starship that would land on the moon as soon ?as 2030, ?and will build a lunar surface vehicle that ?can host payloads from clients worldwide sharing their ride on Starship to the moon, it said.
The new ¡°lunar access integrator¡± service provides moon-bound ¡°buses¡± and can complement ?Ispace¡¯s ongoing development of dedicated lunar landers, or ¡°taxis,¡± to the moon¡¯s surface, said Ispace Executive ?Vice President Hideari Kamiya.
On previous trips to the moon, Ispace used SpaceX¡¯s Falcon 9 rockets for unsuccessful lunar touchdown attempts ?in 2023 and 2025.
The Tokyo-based company ?now aims to soft-land three landers, called Ultra, onto the moon by 2030, including a mission that ?is part of NASA¡¯s ?Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
While Ispace carries on ?its Ultra missions, the tie-up with SpaceX will ¡°exponentially¡± accelerate its growth ?in ?the lunar infrastructure market, Chief Executive Takeshi Hakamada said.
SpaceX welcomed the expansion of its relationship with Ispace to fly missions on Starship, a reusable transportation system which, unlike Falcon 9, includes a spacecraft that ?Musk¡¯s company plans to take to the moon and eventually to Mars.
¡°Their integration services provide a valuable pathway for smaller payloads to secure a ride to the Moon today, and we look forward to supporting ispace and their customers ?as ?they help expand access to the lunar surface,¡± Stephanie ?Bednarek, SpaceX¡¯s vice president of commercial sales, said in a statement.
The relationship is ?not exclusive. NASA plans to use Starship¡¯s first lunar landing in 2028 as part of its Artemis program to send astronauts back to the moon. U.S. lunar rover startup Astrolab has also booked space ?on a future Starship flight.
¡°SpaceX approached us first¡± with the integrator business idea, Hakamada said.
¡°While we can¡¯t rule out other companies entering the market, few might be able to integrate cargo and keep providing services after touching down on the moon.¡±
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