ispace Announces Findings from the Mission 2 'Improvement Task Force'

ispace, inc. (Tokyo, Japan; Representative Director: Takeshi Hakamada; hereinafter 'ispace') (Stock Code: 9348) announced today at a press conference the results of the 'Improvement Task Force,' a group centered on third-party experts established to identify broader improvements following the technical analysis of the Mission 2 soft landing failure in June 2025. During the conference, co-chairs Professor Olivier L. de Weck of MIT (Apollo Program Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics) and Professor Naohiko Kohtake of Keio University (Graduate School of System Design and Management) presented '7 Recommendations' as concrete improvement measures to the company's management. The review focused on validating the technical factor analysis conducted by ispace, examining potential oversights from an independent third-party perspective. The study utilized CAST (Causal Analysis based on Systems Methodology), an incident analysis technique used to identify causes in complex socio-technical systems. This allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the Mission 2 failure, extending beyond hardware issues related to the laser range finder to include the entire system. The objectives for establishing the Improvement Task Force were as follows: ・To verify the validity of internal technical analysis regarding the Mission 2 landing failure and gain additional insights into technical and systemic factors from a third-party perspective. ・To compile recommendations for future missions to elevate lunar landing technology maturity to a level sufficient for commercialization. ・To clarify the company's current status (strengths and weaknesses) and maintain trust with all stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, and the government, through transparent disclosure. Based on the CAST analysis, the task force provided '7 Recommendations' categorized into three levels: operational, system development, and management decision-making. ■ '7 Recommendations' from the Improvement Task Force: Operational Level 1. Introduction of Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) 2. Utilization of remaining fuel during landing operations System Development Level 3. Improvement of the vendor selection process 4. Enhancement of project resources allocated to testing 5. Design and verification of Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) Management Decision-Making Level 6. Improvement of collaboration between ispace and Draper 7. Strengthening of the corporate risk management approach In response to these recommendations, the company has announced concrete improvement measures currently under consideration and plans to implement them for future missions. Key examples include the introduction of TRN (Recommendation 1), which will leverage insights from JAXA/SLIM through the 'High-Precision Landing Technology in Lunar Polar Regions' project under the Space Strategy Fund, alongside the company's existing TRN development. Regarding the enhancement of testing resources (Recommendation 4), ispace plans to expand its existing Flight Operation department into a 'Test and Flight Operation' department to integrate testing and operations.