The project will focus on ‘evolvable swarm robots that can share intelligence to settle in unknown and unexplored areas’ and will be led by Professor Yasuharu Kunii from Chuo University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering.
“The signing of this memorandum is a primary example of ispace providing opportunities for technology demonstrations on the Moon as part of the Japanese government’s Cabinet Office Moonshot Research and Development Program,” Takeshi Hakamada, founder & CEO of ispace, said in a statement. “As part of our business model, ispace will support pioneering projects by providing transportation services to landing sites that meet the needs of our customers.”
Lava tubes form when a volcanic eruption sends lava flowing in channels on the ground. The surface of the lava flow cools and forms a crust on top, while the hot lava keeps flowing underneath, forming a tunnel.
Because the temperature inside lava tubes changes little and the risk of radiation and meteorites is reduced, it is expected that they could be used to build future manned exploration bases in.
Through research and development by the Kunii Moonshot Project at Chuo University, a swarm of low-function small robots will be automatically organised and controlled by the network intelligence installed in each robot, enabling them to explore the inside of lunar lava tubes and survey habitable areas. It is expected that based on this research, full-scale lunar city development can begin.
“The synergy between our Moonshot team's AI and robot exploration mission technology and ispace's transportation technology will create the next Japanese and world firsts in Japan's space exploration technology,” said Professor Yasuharu Kunii, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University. “I am confident that by shedding light on the future potential of using difficult environments, such as the underground space in the Moon, we can grasp the future of humanity and contribute to the expansion of our knowledge and humanosphere.”
Deep Heat: The new technologies taking geothermal energy to the next level
No. Not in the UK. The one location in the UK, with the prospect of delivering heat at around 150°C and a thermal-to-electrical efficiency of 10-12%,...