Japanese company-developed lunar exploration vehicle Donated to US Smithsonian Museum October 24, 9:59
A small lunar exploration vehicle developed by a Japanese venture company was donated to the Smithsonian Museum in the United States, where it was unveiled at an exhibition corner introducing the present and future of space development.
Donated to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, the capital of the United States, was the SORATO, a lunar exploration vehicle developed by Japanese space development ventures.
SORATO has the ability to send a video captured by a camera with a 360-degree field of view to the earth, running on a four-wheel drive despite its small size of approximately 60 cm in length and 4 kg in weight.
SORATO was a lunar exploration race sponsored by an American foundation, and was planned to be launched by an Indian rocket by the Japanese team. Last year, the abandonment of the lunar surface was abandoned, and the race itself ended without a winner. did.
The person in charge of the museum evaluated it as “an important collection showing that many entrepreneurs' motivation for space development has been stimulated by private races,” and the current space development that will be established six years later. It will be shown at the exhibition corner introducing the future.
The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is one of the world's largest space-themed museums, and this is the first time that a space probe developed by Japan has been added to the collection.
The space development venture company “iSpace”, which participated in the development of SOLATO, is currently developing a new exploration vehicle, aiming to reach the moon in 2023.