US keeps Artemis partnership despite Musk influence
CEO expects NASA's commercial moon program to stay on track
Japan's ispace to make second lunar touchdown try in May-June
By Kantaro Komiya
TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Tokyo-based moon exploration company ispace 9348.T is heartened by signs the United States and Japan will remain on course for joint lunar missions, its CEO said on Wednesday, amid growing uncertainties in U.S. space policies under Trump 2.0.
The view by ispace chief executive Takeshi Hakamada came after a meeting last weekend between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reaffirmed a "strong partnership" for future Artemis moon surface exploration.
While the second Trump term's space priorities remain unclear, given the influence of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk who has a greater focus on Mars exploration, the sign of continuity in international programming could have reassured Artemis partners.
Europe, Canada and the United Arab Emirates are also partners in NASA's Artemis programme, which is supported by rocket launches by private companies and aims to get astronauts back on the moon by 2028.
"We think the CLPS should stay on track," Hakamada told an earnings briefing, referring to NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program that has assisted private moonshot projects.
Launched last month, ispace's Resilience lander will approach the moon in about three months for the company's second lunar touchdown, after its inaugural attempt failed in 2023.
For its third mission, ispace plans to launch a lander carrying scientific instruments to the far side of the moon in 2026 as part of CLPS.
A commercial moon race is picking up pace as a series of NASA-backed American companies send unmanned landers this year.
Texas-based Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which shared a SpaceX rocket ride with Resilience, will reach the moon in early March. Intuitive Machines LUNR.O, which last year achieved the world's first commercial lunar landing, plans to launch another mission later this month.
For the financial year ending in March, ispace expected to record a net loss of 10.8 billion yen ($70.3 million). It will turn profitable "within a few years", CFO Jumpei Nozaki said.
After a blistering debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and hitting an all time high of 2,373 yen in April 2023, ispace shares have stagnated, closing on Wednesday at 650 yen.
($1 = 153.6300 yen)
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
((kantaro.komiya@thomsonreuters.com; X: @kantarokomiya;))
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