Sora-Q

Last updated

Sora-Q is a miniature Lunar rover designed and made by Japanese space agency JAXA, toy manufacturer Tomy, Sony, and Doshisha University. [1]

It was launched to the Moon first on the failed Hakuto-R Mission 1 in 2022, [2] [3] and on 2023 Smart Lander for Investigating Moon mission, where it is officially called the Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2). The rover was successfully deployed and operated after landing on January 19, 2024. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

The baseball-sized rover has a mass of 250 g and diameter of 8 cm and is equipped with two small cameras. LEV-2 extends its shape to crawl on the lunar surface using two wheels at its sides, a method of locomotion inspired by frogs and sea turtles; [9] it can "run" for approximately two hours. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JAXA</span> Japans national air and space agency

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlas (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Atlas is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located in the northeast part of the Moon, to the southeast of Mare Frigoris. Just to the west is the slightly smaller but still prominent crater Hercules. Northeast of Atlas is the large crater Endymion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon landing</span> Arrival of a spacecraft on the Moons surface

A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar lander</span> Spacecraft intended to land on the surface of the Moon

A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 1972 during the United States' Apollo Program. Several robotic landers have reached the surface, and some have returned samples to Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rover (space exploration)</span> Space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other celestial body

A rover is a planetary surface exploration device designed to move over the rough surface of a planet or other planetary mass celestial bodies. Some rovers have been designed as land vehicles to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers are typically created to land on another planet via a lander-style spacecraft, tasked to collect information about the terrain, and to take crust samples such as dust, soil, rocks, and even liquids. They are essential tools in space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SELENE-2</span>

SELENE-2, or the Selenological and Engineering Explorer 2, is a cancelled Japanese robotic mission to the Moon that would have included an orbiter, a lander and a rover. It was intended as a successor to the 2007 SELENE (Kaguya) lunar orbiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hakuto</span> Japanese aerospace team

Hakuto (ハクト) or formerly White Label Space (ホワイトレーベルスペース) was a team formed in early 2008 by a group of experienced space professionals inspired by the challenge of the Google Lunar X PRIZE to develop a robotic Moon exploration mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar rover</span> Vehicle that travels on the Moons surface

A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rovers have been partially or fully autonomous robots, such as the Soviet Union's Lunokhods, Chinese Yutus, Indian Pragyan, and Japan's LEVs. Five countries have had operating rovers on the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and Japan.

The (Japanese) Lunar Exploration Program is a program of robotic and human missions to the Moon undertaken by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its division, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). It is also one of the three major enterprises of the JAXA Space Exploration Center (JSPEC). The main goal of the program is "to elucidate the origin and evolution of the Moon and utilize the Moon in the future".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart Lander for Investigating Moon</span> Japanese lunar lander mission

Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is a lunar lander mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The lander's initial launch date in 2021 was postponed until 2023 due to delays in its rideshare, the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). On 6 September 2023 at 23:42 UTC, XRISM launched, and SLIM separated from it later that day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 in spaceflight</span> Spaceflight-related events during the year 2022

The year 2022 witnessed the number of launches of SpaceX's Falcon rocket family surpassing the CNSA's Long March rocket family, making the United States the country with the highest number of launches in 2022 instead of China. This year also featured the first successful launch of Long March 6A, Nuri, Angara 1.2, Vega-C, Kinetica-1, and Jielong-3. National space agencies' activities in this year is also marred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to tension between Roscosmos and Western space agencies, threats of ending collaboration on the International Space Station (ISS), and delays on space missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 in spaceflight</span> Spaceflight-related events during the year 2024

The year 2024 is expected to exceed 2023's 223 orbital launches. So far, the year saw the successful first launch of Vulcan Centaur, Gravity-1, and notably the third developmental launch of SpaceX's Starship – IFT-3. Additionally, the final launch of a Delta family rocket occurred in April with a Delta IV Heavy. In May, China launched the Chang'e 6, the first sample return from the far side of the Moon. Following 2020s' trend, it is expected that many more privately-developed launch vehicles will feature a maiden launch in 2024.

ispace Inc. is a public Japanese company developing robotic spacecraft and other technology to compete for both transportation and exploration mission contracts from space agencies and other private industries. ispace's mission is to enable its clients to discover, map, and use natural lunar resources.

The Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) is a planned joint lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The mission would send an uncrewed lunar lander and rover to explore the south pole region of the Moon no earlier than 2026. It is envisaged to explore the permanently shadowed regions on the Moon. JAXA is likely to provide the H3 launch vehicle and the rover, while ISRO would be providing the lander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emirates Lunar Mission</span> United Arab Emirates Lunar Mission

The Emirates Lunar Mission was the first mission to the Moon from the United Arab Emirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hakuto-R Mission 1</span> Lunar landing mission by Japanese ispace

Hakuto-R Mission 1 was a failed private Japanese uncrewed lunar landing mission built and operated by ispace, which was launched in December 2022 for an attempted lunar landing in April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EagleCam</span> CubeSat camera system to capture Odysseus landing

EagleCam is a deployable CubeSat camera system designed to capture the lunar landing of the Nova-C Odysseus lander on the Moon. Designed and manufactured by staff and students working in the Space Technologies Laboratory at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, it was intended to deploy from Odysseus and take the first photographs of a spacecraft landing on the moon from a third-person perspective. It also planned to test an electrodynamic dust shield system in space for the first time and utilize a Wi-Fi connection to transmit data for the first time on the lunar surface.

References

  1. Hirano, Daichi (7 October 2022). "Palm-Sized Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2)". JAXA . Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  2. Rabie, Passant (12 December 2022). "SpaceX Launches Moon-Bound Private Japanese Lander Following Delays". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. "ispace、2022年末頃の打ち上げに向け、フライトモデル組み立ての最終工程に着手 Hakuto-Rのミッション1と2の進捗報告を実施". ispace. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  4. Alt, Matt (21 December 2022). "A Mini Moon Rover from the Toy Company That Created Transformers". The New Yorker. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  5. "Japan succeeds in soft landing on the moon, but its lander has a power problem". npr.org. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  6. Wall, Mike (25 January 2024). "Japan's SLIM moon lander photographed on the lunar surface — on its nose (image)". Space.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. "Stricken Japanese Moon mission landed on its nose". BBC. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  8. "Sora-Q Rover, LEV-2, SLIM Mission". Lunar Resources Registry. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  9. "JAXA Gives Itself 60 Out of 100 for Lunar Landing | JAPAN Forward". 23 January 2024. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  10. "Palm-Sized Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2)". Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-08-26.