Hakuto-R M1, M2

Hakuto-R M1 [ispace]

Hakuto-R M1 is a Japanese commercial technology demonstration lunar landing mission.

The development started as an entry for the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) called Hakuto, but did not progress to a flyable mission during the GLXP timeframe. In August 2019, ispace announced a restructuring of its lunar program, which they call Hakuto-R. A significant change was the elimination of the technology demonstration orbiter mission in 2020 in favor of moving more quickly toward a demonstration of commercial lunar landing capabilities. Hakuto-R Mission 1 is a lunar lander that delivers several payloads to the lunar surface.

Assembly of the lander will begin in Japan in 2021 at a JAL Engineering Co., Ltd. facility in Narita, Japan. Final assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) activities for the lander will be carried out by ArianeGroup GmbH at its facilities in Lampoldhausen, Germany. After assembly and final testing in Germany, the lander will be delivered to Cape Canaveral in the United States for its launch.

In addition to supporting the assembly of the lander, ArianeGroup GmbH is supplying the two independent propulsion systems: the main propulsion system (equipped with an apogee engine and bi-propellant thrusters) and a Reaction Control System (RCS) consisting of Hydrazine thrusters. Both propulsion systems are equipped with ArianeGroup components such as valves, pipes and fittings.

The primary landing site will be the Atlas crater in Mare Frigoris.

The M1 lander will then carry multiple commercial and government payloads including the Rashid rover of the Emirates Lunar Mission to the surface of the Moon.

Originally, Hakuto-R was planned for launch aboard a shared Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) rocket together with a geostationary stellite. Now the launch took place on 11 December 2022 on a dedicated rocket.

Landing will take place in April 2023.

A second mission, Hakuto-R M2, is planned for 2023.