Tech startup readies for triple moonshot
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Japanese startup ispace is assembling three crowdfunded moon landers, the first of which, HAKUTO-R, is due to be launched by SpaceX in 2022
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Travel time

Three months

Landing sensors
Measure speed and distance to lunar surface for autonomous landing

Money raised from crowdfunding: $195.5m

SpaceX
Falcon 9 launch vehicle (70m tall)

Hakuto means “white rabbit” in Japanese, inspired by legend of white rabbit that lives on moon

Antenna

Scientific instruments and cameras

Lander payload Can deliver up to two rovers for exploration of surface
Solar
panels 

2.3m
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PROGRAMME
Marks world’s first commercial lunar exploration
2022: HAKUTO-R – carrying rover (UAE), robot (Japan), three onboard experiments (Canada)
2023: HAKUTO-R – rover (ispace) to collect lunar data
2024: New, larger lander – currently under development in U.S.
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Sources: TechCrunch, The National, ispace, SpaceX © GRAPHIC NEWS