12 Nov, 2024
TOKYO – November 12, 2024 –ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, announced today JINS, a Japanese eyewear company, has joined the HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program as a Corporate Partner.
JINS is a company that aims to shed light on possibilities that no one has yet discovered, and to enrich and expand the way people live. Through the partnership with HAKUTO-R, JINS aims to realize the “challenge of the unknown world” of both companies, and to take a step forward that will also expand new horizons for the future space industry.
“We are delighted to welcome JINS as a member of the HAKUTO-R program,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. “JINS’ innovative spirit strongly resonates with our vision, and we look forward to creating a new future through the challenge of lunar exploration. We also believe that this partnership will connect the Earth and the Moon, and deliver new value and a sustainable, prosperous future to people.”
“At JINS, we are ‘Shining a New Light’ for people all over the world, mainly through our eyewear. We want to lead people to new ways of seeing, new possibilities, and new experiences, and create opportunities for their lives to expand and become richer. We want to illuminate each person’s future by ‘Shining a New Light’. Our challenge will never change, and we will continue to try and if we fail, try again,” said Jin Tanaka, Founder and CEO of JINS.
“This time, we are very excited to be a partner in this unprecedented challenge of the first lunar exploration by a Japanese private company. We can’t wait to see what kind of world we will see, what kind of scenery we will see, and the excitement that will be revealed by ‘Shining a New Light’. We also really identify with the attitude of the people at ispace, who are single-mindedly and wholeheartedly continuing to move towards their goal, step by step. We at JINS, as HAKUTO-R partners with ispace, ‘Shining a New Light’ to the world, one step at a time.”
ispace’s vision “Expand the planet. Expand the future.” is to develop the cislunar economy, a broad concept that includes creating new markets, technologies, and infrastructure that support the realization of a sustainable society. As a lunar transportation service provider, ispace intends to expand its service of high-frequency, low-cost missions to lunar orbit and the lunar surface. Together the two companies expect to increase participation in the market and collaboratively support each other’s goals.
ispace is leveraging its global presence through its three business units in Japan, the U.S., and Luxembourg, for the simultaneous development of upcoming missions. Mission 2 is led by ispace Japan and is now scheduled for launch no earlier than January 2025. Mission 3, debuting the APEX 1.0 lunar lander, is led by ispace-U.S. and is expected to launch in 2026. Mission 6, which will utilize the Series 3 lander, currently being designed in Japan, is scheduled to be launched by 2027.
About ispace
ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, “Expand our planet. Expand our future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with more than 300 employees worldwide. For more information, visit: www.ispace-inc.com and follow us on X: @ispace_inc.
HAKUTO-R (https://ispace-inc.com/hakuto-r/)
HAKUTO-R is a lunar exploration program operated consisting of ispace’s first two lunar missions: Mission 1, completed in 2023, and Mission 2, a lunar landing and deployment of a rover planned to launch no earlier than December 2024.
HAKUTO-R’s official partners include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and its corporate partners include Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Ltd., NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd., Citizen Watch Co., Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation, Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd., SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., Sky Corporation, Epiroc AB, JINS Inc. and Kurita Water Industries Ltd.