EntX and ispace to Progress Cutting-Edge Lunar Night Survival Technology; awarded Australian Government Grant

 

Innovative Payload Planned for a Future ispace Lunar Mission

TOKYO – April 22, 2025 – ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, and entX Limited, an Australian nuclear engineering and technology developer company, have reached an agreement to transport and test an innovative Radioisotope Heating Unit (RHU) on the lunar surface as part of a future ispace mission. The technology demonstration will be funded in part by a $200,000 AUD grant from the Space Cooperation and Innovation Fund supported by the State of South Australia.

entX and ispace signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in January to develop a shared understanding for a technology demonstration of entX’s RHU on the Moon surface and its possible integration to the lander. The joint study plans to evaluate technical feasibility, focusing on thermal requirements, packaging, and system compatibility to enable extended mission durations, including survival through the lunar night.

In order to realize the study, entX and ispace have been awarded a grant to help fund a collaborative project for entX’s innovative RHU. The latest grant comes from Round 2 of the South Australian Government’s Space Collaboration & Innovation Fund (SASIC), which has awarded entX 200,000 Australian Dollars to help fast-track the development of this technology by supporting a collaborative project, with ispace receiving part of the grant through entX.

“Our study to transport entX’s technology to the Moon and test their effectiveness against the lunar night is another example of the ispace’s unique capability,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. “We are honored by the support that the South Australian Government has shown to entX and ispace through this grant.”

“With the huge ramp up in lunar exploration, the timing of this grant is perfect as demand for this type of solution has never been higher,” said Bryn Jones, Managing Director of entX. “This support from the South Australian government will enable us to work closely with ispace to investigate the feasibility of integrating our RHU into future lunar missions.”

ispace is leveraging its global presence through its three business units in Japan, the U.S., and Luxembourg, for the simultaneous development of upcoming missions. Mission 2 is led by ispace Japan. Mission 3, debuting the APEX 1.0 lunar lander, is led by ispace-U.S. and is expected to launch in 2026.  Mission 6, which will utilize the Series 3 lander, currently being designed in Japan, is scheduled to be launched by 2027.

To meet a growing demand from government, commercial, and educational organizations from around the globe, and in particular the Indo-Pacific region, ispace is negotiating with customers to provide payload service contracts and data services for ispace’s Mission 3 and beyond.