Japanese moon rover launched for world's 1st private lunar exploration

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Japanese startup Dymon Co. said it has launched its ultra-compact moon rover for the world's first private lunar exploration, local media reported on Thursday.

Moon Rover was launched Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as the Tokyo-based firm seeks to become the world's first private company to explore and photograph the lunar surface, according to the Tokyo-based Kyodo news agency.

Named as Yaoki, the 498-gram rover, which measures around 14 centimeters in length and width and 8 cm in height, is expected to reach the lunar south pole in early March.

Around 50 people watched a live broadcast of the launch at the Space Travelium TeNQ museum in Tokyo.

The rover’s name hails from the Japanese proverb "nana korobi, ya oki," which roughly translates as "fall seven times, get up eight," highlighting its ability to repeatedly return to an upright position after tipping over.

After landing on the moon, Yaoki will wait around five days to acclimatize to the temperature before being deployed.

Then it will be remotely operated from Earth for several hours to capture and transmit images.