Japanese lunar exploration firm ispace is trying to land its first cargo mission on the moon on Tuesday, which might make it the primary non-public entity to finish the feat.

The Tokyo-based firm’s Mission 1 lunar lander goals to the touch down within the Atlas Crater, which is within the northeastern sector of the moon. The corporate’s uncrewed mission carries scientific analysis and different payloads. There are not any folks on board.

Based greater than a decade in the past, ispace originated as a group competing for the Google Lunar Xprize below the title Hakuto – after a mythological Japanese white rabbit. After the Xprize competitors was canceled, ispace pivoted and expanded its targets, with ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada aiming to create “an economically viable ecosystem” across the moon, he mentioned in a current interview.

The corporate has grown steadily because it labored towards this primary mission, with over 200 staff around the globe – together with about 50 at its U.S. subsidiary in Denver. Moreover, ispace has steadily raised funds from all kinds of buyers, bringing in $237 million so far by way of a mix of fairness and debt. The buyers of ispace embrace the Growth Financial institution of Japan, Suzuki Motor, Japan Airways and Airbus Ventures.

The ispace Mission 1 lander stands about 7 toes tall and carries small rovers and payloads for various authorities companies and firms – together with from the U.S., Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier than the launch, ispace outlined 10 milestones for the mission. The corporate has accomplished eight up to now, with the ninth representing a profitable soft-landing on the floor and the tenth representing the institution of secure communications with the Earth, as effectively regular energy provide, after the touchdown.

The milestones display the complexity and problem of ispace’s mission, because it goals to finish a feat beforehand achieved solely by world superpowers. A earlier non-public lunar mission, flown by Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL and likewise born out of the Google Lunar Xprize, crashed into the floor throughout an tried touchdown in April 2019.

The corporate plans for this to be the primary of a number of missions to the moon. Final 12 months ispace gained a $73 million NASA contract as a part of a group led by Massachusetts-based Draper to fly cargo to the moon’s floor in 2025 below the Industrial Lunar Payload Companies (CLPS) program.

Correction: This story has been up to date to appropriate that ispace had accomplished eight targets related to its lunar mission previous to an try to land cargo on the floor of the moon Tuesday. An earlier model of this story misstated the targets and the corporate’s progress.