6 Oct, 2025
Two Companies Aim to Create Innovative Water Solutions on the Moon
TOKYO–October 6, 2025–ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, announced today that its Board of Directors voted today to issue new shares through a third-party allotment to Kurita Water Industries Ltd. The investment amount from Kurita Water Industries will be approximately ¥2 billion.
Details of the new share issuance are available in the “Notice Regarding the Issuance of New Shares through a Public Offering and Third-Party Allotment, and the Sale of Shares through an Over-Allotment Option,” disclosed on the same day via timely disclosure on the IR website.
IR Website: https://ir.ispace-inc.com
Kurita Water Industries participated in ispace’s “HAKUTO-R” program joining as a supporting company in 2023 for “SMBC x HAKUTO-R VENTURE MOON” Mission 2 and increasing its participation as a corporate partner the following year in 2024. Kurita Water Industries has a track record in space development, having collaborated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as a private company to develop a water recycling system for the International Space Station (ISS), achieving Japan’s first in-orbit demonstration. Additionally, Kurita Water Industries provided ultra-pure water used in the water electrolysis device developed by Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd. that flew as a payload on ispace’s Mission 2. Most recently, in March 2025, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Kurita Water Industries and ispace for payload transportation services, aiming for a lunar demonstration of a future lunar water processing test device.
Through new share issuances, including this concurrent third-party allotment, ispace will secure development funding to reliably execute two missions scheduled for launch by 2028; Mission 3, currently planned for launch in 2027, and Mission 4, currently planned for launch in 2028. This will also strengthen cash reserves and increase the company’s financial stability. By enabling agile management decisions, ispace aims to accelerate continuous improvements in technology and quality to enhance success probability, while precisely capturing market requirements. The action aims to build on the results of Mission 1 and Mission 2, enabling refinements for subsequent missions.
Statement of Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace
“Our collaboration with Kurita Industries represents a crucial step towards realizing the cislunar economy that we envision. We are confident it will significantly contribute to establishing water recycling technology, the foundation for sustainable space activities. Through the memorandum of understanding for technical review of the water treatment system in March and this capital participation, we will accelerate the creation of innovative solutions for water recovery, purification, and reuse on the lunar surface, laying the groundwork for future crewed exploration and lunar habitation,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace.
Statement of Makoto Mizuno, Head of Innovation Division, Kurita Water Industries Ltd.
“We are pleased to take on this new challenge with ispace to realize lunar operations. Founded as Japan’s first space startup, ispace is now a publicly listed company pioneering the creation of a sustainable economic zone connecting Earth and the Moon, including lunar transportation and resource exploration. Leveraging our long-cultivated expertise in water, we have developed water treatment technologies that function not only on Earth but also in microgravity environments. By combining our long-established water treatment technology and operational expertise, we will promote the utilization of water resources and infrastructure development on the lunar surface, thereby creating new value in space. We are confident this collaboration will lay the foundation for future industries connecting space and Earth, marking a significant step toward humanity’s sustainable development,” said Makoto Mizuno, Head of Innovation Division, Kurita Water Industries Ltd.
About ispace, inc. (https://ispace-inc.com)
ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, “Expand our planet. Expand our future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with more than 300 employees worldwide. For more information, visit: www.ispace-inc.com and follow us on X: @ispace_inc.