Japanese company Ispace has raised $90.2 million in a Series A funding round, an amount that will help the company continue its plans towards launching two private lunar missions by 2020, Techcrunch reported.
Ispace intends to launch its first Moon mission by the fourth quarter of 2019 and a second one by the end of 2020. The first will put its lander into orbit around the Moon for observation while the second will see the same lander descend to the Moon’s surface, where it will deploy mapping rovers to conduct further experimentation.
The company’s officials believe that by 2040, the Moon will have a population of around 1,000 permanent residents and some 10,000 visitors and tourists making the lunar trip every year. Its goal is to create a transportation system that can provide regular cargo transport and scientific service to the Moon.
