March 4 (UPI) -- Japanese lunar exploration company ispace announced Tuesday it will aim to place a lander on the moon on June 6. Founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada held a press conference Monday to share details regarding its second lunar mission, which began on Jan. 15 with the launch of its SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2 RESILIENCE lander.

Intuitive Machines says its Athena lunar lander was unable to recharge its batteries while resting on its side, bringing the moon mission to an early end.

The current plan calls for Resilience to land that day at 3:24 p.m. EST (2024 GMT) near the center of Mare Frigoris ("Sea of Cold"), a basaltic plain in the moon 's northern reaches. But that's not set in stone.

Firefly Aerospace successfully reached the lunar surface, to be followed in short order by space companies Intuitive Machines and ispace.

Japanese startup ispace on Tuesday set a June 6 target touchdown date for its moon lander, following the success of its rocket "rideshare" buddy, a spacecraft from a US firm.

The companies Intuitive Machines, Firefly Aerospace, and ispace are all preparing to land on the moon. A new era of lunar wealth is coming.

Japanese moon exploration company ispace said its Resilience lander will attempt a lunar touchdown at 4:24 a.m. on June 6 local time (1924 GMT on June 5) at the earliest, in its second attempt after the first shot failed in April 2023.

Recent space exploration news highlights include a second delay for Europe's Ariane 6 launch, Firefly Aerospace's successful moon landing with its Blue Ghost spacecraft, Japan's ispace planning a second lunar landing attempt,

The global space race sees setbacks and successes, with Europe's Ariane 6 launch delayed, Firefly Aerospace's first moon landing, ispace planning a second attempt, and SpaceX postponing a test flight.

The Japanese lunar exploration company ispace expects to place a lunar lander on June 6. File Photo by Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell/UPI Elon Musk labels Geoffrey Hinton ‘carelessly ignorant ...