Japan wants to send a transforming spherical robot to the moon

By Georgina Torbet Published April 28, 2022

Transformable lunar robot (left: before transformation, right: after transformation) — Transformable lunar robot (left: before transformation, right: after transformation) JAXA

The moon could soon be visited by a jolly round robotic friend. The Japanese Space Agency, JAXA, has announced plans to build a transforming lunar rover to explore the moon ahead of its planned crewed mission there.

To travel across the lunar regolith — the dusty, soil-like substance which covers the moon’s surface — the rover will be able to transform from its ball-like travel form, designed to be as compact and efficient as possible, into a delightfully named “running form” which it will use to move around the lunar environment. It will take pictures of the surface to learn more about the topography and the qualities of the regolith, to help engineers design a more maneuverable crewed rover.

Recommended Videos

The round rover will be just a few inches across, or a bit larger than a tennis ball, and will weigh around 250 grams (8.8 ounces). To pack all of the required technology into this tiny form, JAXA is partnering with the Tomy toy company and Doshisha University, with technology contributed by Sony as well.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

JAXA says it aims to launch the mini rover in 2022, to be followed by a much larger rover in 2029. This larger rover will be pressurized and crewed, allowing astronauts to cover larger areas of the moon’s surface and explore more widely. JAXA will also be working alongside NASA for its Artemis mission to the moon.

“In 2019, the Government of Japan decided to participate in the Artemis program which was proposed by the U.S.,” said JAXA Vice President Hiroshi Sasaki. “Based on the decision, JAXA has been promoting mission development and system studies on international space exploration targeting the Moon and Mars by gathering Japanese technologies and knowledge.

“In particular, the crewed pressurized rover will play an important role in developing mobility on the lunar surface for sustainable exploration activities. The data on the lunar surface can be obtained by utilizing the transformable lunar robot which is a production of the Space Exploration Innovation Hub and the lunar landing missions of the commercial company. By making the best use of the data, we will surely proceed with the study on the crewed pressurized rover”

Topics

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Space

These 3 companies are developing NASA’s new moon vehicle

An artist’s concept design of NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle.

NASA has big plans for the moon -- not only sending people back to the moon for the first time in over 50 years but also having them investigate the exciting south pole region, where water is thought to be available. The plan is not just for astronauts to visit for a day or two, but to have them stay on the moon for weeks at a time, exploring the surrounding area. And to explore, they can't just travel on foot -- they'll need a new moon buggy.

Today, Wednesday, April 3, NASA announced the three companies developing its new lunar vehicle: Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab. They'll each develop a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that can carry astronauts from their landing site across the moon's surface, allowing them to range further and reach more areas of interest.

Space

NASA astronauts will try to grow plants on the moon

An artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut deploying an instrument on the lunar surface.

An artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut deploying an instrument on the lunar surface. NASA

It was almost a decade ago when astronauts aboard the International Space Station sat down for a meal of historical significance as it was the first to include food -- albeit only lettuce -- grown and harvested in space.

Space

Meet NASA’s trio of mini moon rovers set to launch next year

Part of NASA’s CADRE technology demonstration, three small rovers that will explore the Moon together show off their ability to drive as a team autonomously – without explicit commands from engineers – during a test in a clean room at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in December 2023.

NASA is ramping up its plans for exploring the moon, not only in terms of preparing to send astronauts there but also rovers. There's the VIPER rover, which will search for water around the lunar south pole, and now NASA is introducing a trio of mini rovers called CADRE, or Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration. These will work together as a team to map the lunar surface, testing the possibilities of using rovers in groups for future exploration.

The rovers, developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, are just the size of a carry-on suitcase. They are designed to move independently but share data so they can cover more ground than a single rover could. They'll have to work over a lunar day, which is about two weeks, to map out features on the surface and look below ground using radar.