An H3 launch in December 2025. Credit: JAXA
WASHINGTON — Japanese lunar lander developer ispace has selected the H3 rocket to launch its next mission in 2028, creating what the companies called Japan’s first private lunar transportation system.
At a July 28 (U.S. time) briefing, executives with ispace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, or MHI, signed an agreement for the launch of ispace’s Mission 3 in 2028 on an H3 rocket provided by MHI. Mission 3 will be the first flight of ispace’s new Ultra lander design announced earlier this year.
This will be the first time an H3 has launched an ispace lunar lander or any payload from a Japanese startup. ispace’s first two lunar landers flew on SpaceX Falcon 9 launches in December 2022 and January 2025.
Takeshi Hakamada, chief executive of ispace, said the agreement with MHI was more than a launch contract. “What begins today is a new challenge, a joint effort between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and ispace to build Japan’s first privately led lunar transportation system.”
