On November 28, Japan Airlines (JAL), JAL Engineering, JALUX, and ispace signed a basic agreement to collaborate with the aim of "building a transportation system and infrastructure that will support sustainable activities on the lunar surface in the future."
With the addition of JALUX, a trading company within the JAL Group, the four companies will accelerate their efforts to build a new economic zone connecting Earth and the Moon, known as the "CysLuna Economic Zone."
<From left: Hiroki Haraikawa, Director and General Manager of Business Development at JAL Engineering; Takao Suzuki, Executive Officer and General Manager of Innovation at JAL; Takeshi Hakamada, Representative Director, CEO & Founder of ispace; Hidefumi Mori, Executive Officer and General Manager of Aviation & Airport Business at JALUX>
It is anticipated that various activities such as transportation, exploration, and habitation will begin in earnest on the lunar surface in the future, and ispace has a vision to build a sustainable cislunar economic zone.
Furthermore, under its vision of "Bringing the same world as in air travel to space," JAL is challenging itself to create a sustainable world that generates regular flows of people and goods to space.
To date, JAL has participated as a corporate partner in "HAKUTO," a team that competed in the Google Lunar XPRIZE lunar exploration race, and in "HAKUTO-R," Japan's first private lunar exploration program.
We have provided technical support to ispace, including air transport of lander (lunar lander) components and rover (lunar exploration vehicle) parts, as well as welding, assembly, and testing of fuel piping by JAL Engineering.
Based on the basic agreement, JAL and JAL Engineering will leverage their expertise in maintenance technology, air traffic control, and flight management cultivated in the aviation field to co-create systems and infrastructure that will support the future lunar living environment and the high-frequency takeoffs and landings of transport aircraft for ispace's landers and related facilities.
With JALUX joining, we will also consider new collaborations regarding space-related services for general customers of the JAL Group, as well as exploring sales cooperation for payload (cargo) slots in ispace's main business, lunar transportation services.
By combining ispace's lunar lander-based transportation with the JAL Group's aviation expertise and customer network, the aim is to provide opportunities for lunar transportation to a diverse range of stakeholders, including general consumers and private companies. Leveraging the strengths of each of the four companies, the goal is to co-create the infrastructure essential for lunar operations.
