One rocket, two missions: lunar landers built by US and Japanese companies launched their “rideshare” to the Moon on Wednesday, showcasing the private sector’s growing role in space exploration.On board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida were Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience from Japan, which will also deploy a micro rover.Both uncrewed missions aim to build on the success of Texas-based Intuitive Machines, which last year became the first company to successfully touch down on Earth’s celestial neighbor.Until recently, soft landings on the Moon were achieved only by a handful of well-funded national space agencies, starting with the Soviet Union in 1966.Now, however, several emerging US companies are attempting to replicate this feat under NASA’s experimental Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, designed to cut costs and stimulate a lunar economy.The US plans to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon later this decade under the Artemis program, leveraging commercial partners to deliver critical hardware at a fraction of the cost of government-led missions.”Each milestone we complete will provide valuable data for future missions and ultimately keep the United States and our international partners at the forefront of space exploration,” Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim said Tuesday.”Firefly is a go for launch. Let’s go ghost riders in the sky!”- Staying upright -On the Japanese side, Tokyo-based ispace’s first attempt to land on the Moon ended in an unsalvageable “hard landing” in April 2023.”It’s important to challenge ourselves again, after enduring failure and learning from it,” ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada said last week.”Today, we’re going back to the Moon,” a post on the ispace X account said Wednesday, adding in a promotional video: “Today, we prove our resilience”.Blue Ghost is stacked atop Resilience inside the Falcon 9, SpaceX executive Julianna Scheiman said, and will be deployed first, followed by Resilience nearly 30 minutes later.The two spacecraft have different timelines for reaching the Moon.Blue Ghost aims to complete its journey in 45 days, gradually lifting its orbit around Earth before entering lunar orbit and touching down near Mons Latreille, a volcanic feature in Mare Crisium on the Moon’s northeast near side.”With 10 NASA instruments on this flight, we’re conducting scientific investigations… from characterizing Earth’s magnetosphere to understanding lunar dust and the Moon’s interior structure and thermal properties,” NASA scientist Maria Banks said.Blue Ghost also carries technology demonstrations focused on navigation and computing in the Moon’s harsh radiation environment.- ‘Moonhouse’ art -Meanwhile, Resilience will take four to five months to reach its destination in Mare Frigoris, on the Moon’s far north.Its payloads include scientific instruments, but the centerpiece is Tenacious, a micro rover developed by ispace-Europe, a Luxembourg-based subsidiary. The four-wheeled robot features a high-definition camera and will attempt to scoop up regolith — the Moon’s loose surface material.It also carries on its front a small red “Moonhouse” created by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg.These ambitious goals hinge on achieving a successful soft landing — a task fraught with challenges.Spacecraft must navigate treacherous boulders and craters and, in the absence of an atmosphere to support parachutes, rely entirely on thrusters for a controlled descent.A final hurdle, as recent missions have shown, is remaining upright.When Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus landed in April 2024, it tipped over, limiting the investigations it could perform.Similarly, Japan’s SLIM lander, which touched down in March 2024, landed at a wonky angle, leaving its solar panels poorly positioned, similarly curtailing its operational lifespan.

Record numbers of tourists flocked to Japan last year, figures showed Wednesday, as the weak yen bolstered the appeal of the “bucket list” destination despite overcrowding complaints in hotspots like Kyoto.The country logged more than 36.8 million tourist arrivals in 2024, topping 2019’s record of nearly 32 million, according to estimates from the Japan National Tourism Organization.It marks a return to a boom that began over a decade ago before being interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with numbers up more than four-fold from 2012.That is partly thanks to government policies to promote attractions from Mount Fuji’s majestic slopes to shrines and sushi bars in more far-flung parts of the archipelago.Another factor is the cheap yen, which has plunged against other currencies over the past three years, making everything from a bowl of ramen to a handmade Japanese kitchen knife more affordable.Japan has long been a “bucket list” destination for many people, said Naomi Mano, president of hospitality and events company Luxurique.But it’s “prime time because at the moment it’s like Japan is on a 30 percent off sale”, Mano told AFP.- Double trouble? -The government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030.Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colours.But as in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in destinations such as the ancient capital of Kyoto.The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples.Locals have complained of disrespectful tourists harassing the geisha in a frenzy for photos, as well as causing traffic congestion and littering.In a bid to improve the situation — and cash in — Kyoto on Tuesday announced plans to hike lodging taxes “to realise ‘sustainable tourism’ with a high level of satisfaction for citizens, tourists and businesses”.”If there’s a burden on the infrastructure, I do think taxing tourists is a good idea” but Kyoto must find the “right balance”, Australian tourist Larry Cooke, 21, told AFP.- Capsule executives -Exasperated officials have also taken steps elsewhere, including introducing an entry fee and a daily cap on the number of hikers climbing Mount Fuji.Last year a barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store to stop people standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone viral.Some Japanese companies say they can no longer afford hotels in Tokyo and other major cities, as the high demand from tourists pushes up prices.Several managers told AFP they are seeking cheaper alternatives, from Airbnb lets to Japan’s famously claustrophobic capsule hotels.IT company chief Yoshiki Kojima told AFP that he had chosen one with slightly more comfortable bed-sized pods that his employees had liked.”It’s clean, convenient and has a traditional shared bath house. My employees say it’s fun,” Kojima said.- Economy -The economic benefits are clear, however, with experts noting that tourism is now second only to vehicle exports in terms of earnings.Japan, population 124 million, still receives far fewer tourists than top destination France, which has a population of 68 million and welcomed 100 million visitors in 2023.So its overtourism woes are mainly because the influx “is centred around specific cities”, Luxurique’s Mano said.For example, the number of foreign visitors to Tokyo has doubled since 2019, and was up 1.5 times in Osaka.But Mano thinks the government can take steps to change this by promoting other parts of Japan and “making it easier to access — having more information available, being able to book activities in other rural areas.”