The Japanese company ispace has announced that it will begin a new, cheaper cargo transport service to the Moon using the SpaceX-developed Starship rocket and lunar landing vehicle.
Based in Tokyo, the company has reported that it has purchased a 500-kilogram payload capacity for $50 million, which is intended for use in a Starship mission that could reach the Moon by 2030.
ispace plans to create a transport vehicle that will operate on the lunar surface, allowing various countries and organizations to send their cargo to the Moon together. Previously, ispace had used SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets in its attempts to reach the Moon, but the landing attempts in 2023 and 2025 were unsuccessful.
Now, the Japanese company aims to successfully land three Ultra devices on the Moon by 2030, with one of the missions planned under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
