ispace , a spacetech startup aiming to become the first private company in Japan to land on the moon, launched a lunar module developed by ispace from Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida on December 11. The launch was operated by private US space company SpaceX. The lander is scheduled to arrive at the moon around the end of April next year.

This is the first step in the company's HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program, with the lander and other equipment being sent to the lunar surface. The vehicle will land in the northern hemisphere of the moon and will  operated from a control room in Tokyo, to confirm landing techniques.

The lander will separate from its Falcon 9 rocket in orbit and travel to a point approximately 1.5 million kilometers away from the Earth. The lander will make a detour to conserve energy before entering lunar orbit.

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