Suzuki Motor Corporation announced it will help fund private lunar exploration company ispace and its two upcoming space missions. With bases in Japan, Luxembourg and the U.S., ispace is working towards a long-term goal of establishing a colony on the moon.
Before that, however, ispace has announced two lunar mission. In late 2019, ispace plans to send its self-developed modular lunar lander vehicle to orbit the moon and conduct observations from space. The second mission, planned for the fourth quarter of 2020, will have the lander touch down on the moon and deploy a network of small rover vehicles to explore and map out the terrain.

Terms of Suzuki’s funding were not disclosed, but ispace says it has raised a combined total of $90.2 million in Series A funding from investors including Suzuki, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, Development Bank of Japan, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Konica Minolta, Shimizu, SPARX, Dentsu, Real Tech Fund, KDDI, Japan Airlines and Toppan Printing. Begin Press Release from Suzuki:

Suzuki Motor Corporation Suzuki Funds ispace, inc. Who Announced Plan for Two Lunar Missions

to Orbit Around and Land on the Moon

Suzuki has decided to fund two lunar missions announced by ispace, inc. a private lunar exploration company. ispace currently manages team HAKUTO, the sole Japanese team participating in the Google Lunar XPRIZE, and Suzuki has been a corporate partner wit

h HAKUTO since July, 2016.
ispace has announced on 13th December that...