Japanese lunar exploration company ispace has announced a new partnership with SpaceX to launch a lower-cost cargo transportation service to the Moon using the company’s next-generation Starship spacecraft.
The Tokyo based company said it has secured 500 kilograms of cargo capacity aboard a future Starship lunar mission for $50 million. The mission, expected to launch as early as 2030, will allow ispace to transport scientific equipment, commercial payloads and other customer cargo to the lunar surface through a shared ride model.
As part of the initiative, ispace will develop a lunar surface vehicle capable of carrying payloads from customers around the world. The company says the new service will complement its existing lunar lander program by offering more flexible and cost-effective access to the Moon.
Executive Vice President Hideari Kamiya described the service as a “lunar access integrator,” comparing it to a bus that transports multiple payloads to the Moon, while the company’s dedicated lunar landers serve as individual “taxis.”
The agreement marks an expansion of the relationship between the two companies. ispace previously relied on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets for its lunar missions in 2023 and 2025, both of which ended without successful soft landings.
Looking ahead, ispace plans to complete three lunar landing missions with its new Ultra landers by 2030, including one mission under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
Chief Executive Takeshi Hakamada said the partnership with SpaceX is expected to significantly accelerate the company’s growth in the emerging lunar infrastructure market.
SpaceX also welcomed the collaboration, saying ispace’s integration services would provide smaller customers with an efficient pathway to reach the Moon using Starship, the fully reusable spacecraft the company intends to use for future lunar and Mars missions.
The partnership is non exclusive. In addition to supporting NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon, Starship is also expected to carry missions for other commercial customers, including lunar rover developer Astrolab.
According to Hakamada, the idea for the cargo integration service was first proposed by SpaceX, adding that few companies currently have the capability to deliver payloads and continue supporting operations after landing on the lunar surface.
Source: Reuters
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