TOKYO, October 9, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - The space brewing equipment jointly developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and DASSAI Inc., a sake company based in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and ingredients will be launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the DASSAI MOON Project, a project to brew sake in space. The launch will take place from Tanegashima Island on October 21, 2025 using H3 Rocket No. 7, a new mainstay launch vehicle built in Japan.

The items will be transported to the International Space Station (ISS) using HTV-X, a new Japanese-built unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft that will undergo its first demonstration test with this launch, and arrangements are being made with JAXA for the brewing test to be conducted in the Japanese experiment module Kibo on the ISS by astronaut Kimiya Yui. The Japanese-led mission aims to brew sake in space for the first time in the history of humanity.

About the DASSAI MOON Project

In 2024, DASSAI commenced the DASSAI MOON Project, seeking to build a brewery on the surface of the moon and brew its sake there with the aim of improving quality of life in activities on the moon in future. In Phase 1 of the DASSAI MOON Project, planned jointly by DASSAI and MHI, the world's first test brewing of sake in space will be conducted in an environment simulating the gravity of the moon's surface in the Japanese experiment module Kibo in the fall of 2025. Past link: https://dassai.com/us/news/info/005853.html

Schedule and mission details for Phase 1 of the DASSAI MOON Project

The ingredients from DASSAI (rice, malt, yeast, and water) and purpose-built space brewing equipment that will be used on the mission will be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center at approximately 10:58am on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 and taken to the ISS. The items will be launched on the new Japanese-made H3 rocket, which commenced operation in 2024, together with the HTV-X, the resupply vehicle being used to transport them to the ISS, which is being taken to space for the first time. Upon arrival at the ISS, the brewing equipment will be set up and water will be placed inside to start multiple parallel fermentation, a fermentation reaction unique to Japanese sake, for the test brew. DASSAI will brew the sake during the mission and MHI has been developing the space brewing equipment. Processes such as the loading of the equipment on the rocket at the launch site, followed by the launch and the operations at the ISS, will be a collaborative effort between JAXA and various Japanese administrative bodies, companies such as MHI, and other organizations, for an all-Japanese technological endeavor.

Testing in orbit will commence around 10 days after the launch, with the sake brewed in a 1/6G environment, equivalent to the gravity of the moon's surface, over a period of approximately two weeks while various data is monitored from Earth. After the fermentation in space is completed, the raw sake will be frozen and stored in orbit; it is expected to be brought back to earth no sooner than the end of the year. After being collected, the raw sake will be thawed and refined on Earth, half of the collected sake will be sent to the purchaser, while the remaining half will be analyzed to glean information for future Japanese space industry development.

"DASSAI MOON Project" Dedicated website: https://dassai.com/moon/en/

About MHI Group

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com

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