Japanese company attempts first private Moon landing with probe and rover deployment

Japanese company iSpace hopes to make history on Tuesday by landing an uncrewed probe on the Moon in the first ever private firm lunar landing. The Hakuto-R M1 mission’s aim is to test the viability of a series of commercial landers to the lunar surface. The lander will deploy a rover from the United Arab Emirates and a ball-shaped robot created by a Japanese toymaker, which will roll across the surface. The spacecraft will carry instruments to test how they perform on the Moon, including an experimental solid-state battery. If successful, the task could represent a “step change” in commercial involvement in space exploration, said Dr Adam Baker, director of Rocket Engineering, but Dr Bleddyn Bowen of Leicester University was more cautious, citing the difficulties of making money from space exploration.