SpaceMiningData
Government agencyJapanActive

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Japan's national space agency. Its resource-related work centers on the Lunar Polar Exploration mission (LUPEX / Chandrayaan-5) with ISRO, which JAXA describes as obtaining data on the quantity and forms of lunar water resources to judge whether they can be used; JAXA also returned samples from asteroid Ryugu with Hayabusa2 (a science mission, held in discovery).

No level assigned

Facts

Headquarters
Japan
Type
Government agency
Founded
2003
Status
Activeas of 2026-09-25. Operating national agency; JAXA pages accessed 2026-09-25.
Roles
Prospecting, Rover / mobility
Targets
Moon, Near-Earth asteroid
Also known as
JAXA
Website
global.jaxa.jp

Missions

2 records
MissionRoleLaunchPhaseOutcome
LUPEX / Chandrayaan-5 (Lunar Polar Exploration mission)SpacecraftOperatorPlanned, no earlier than 2028
Date details

Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-09-25.

In developmentNot applicable
ispace Mission 4 (ULTRA lander; formerly Mission 6)SpacecraftFunderPlanned 2029 (target)
Date details

Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-09-25.

In developmentNot applicable

Dated events

Amounts are shown one at a time as each source states them. They are never added together.

  1. 2026-08-07

    Japan Space Strategy Fund grant to ispace for polar high-precision landing (Mission 4)

    Grantispace, inc.With ispace Mission 4 (ULTRA lander; formerly Mission 6), Japan Aerospace Exploration AgencyJPY 11,600,000,000 (company announcement)

    ispace announced an 11.6 billion yen grant (ceiling 20 billion yen, subject to stage-gate reviews) under Phase 2 of Japan's Space Strategy Fund, administered by JAXA, for high-precision landing near the lunar south pole on Mission 4; the project was selected on 2026-01-16.

    Company announcement. No counterparty or government record found.

    Sources (1) and evidence gaps
    1. [1]ispace Receives Grant for Japan's Space Strategy Fund Project "High-Precision Landing Technology in the Lunar Poles Region"
      ispace, inc.Company statementPublished 2026-08-07Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: amount
      Grant Amount: 11.6 billion yen The maximum grant amount remains 20 billion yen.
      Quote matched the source text when accessed.
    • JAXA-side award record not retrieved.
    • The January 2026 selection release called the project Mission 6; the August 2026 award release renumbered it as Mission 4.

Open evidence gaps

  • Japan's 2021 space resources act is administered by the Cabinet Office, not JAXA. The act is recorded on its own law page.

Sources

2 sources
  1. [1]Lunar Polar Exploration Mission
    JAXA Space Exploration CenterGovernment recordAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: objective, inclusion basis, participants, summary
    JAXA is working with ISRO to plan an international collaborative mission to obtain the data on the quantity and forms of the water resources present on the Moon
    Quote matched the source text when accessed.
  2. [2]JAXA History
    JAXAGovernment recordAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: founded year
    Establishment of an Independent Administrative Agency
    Quote matched the source text when accessed.