In a historic milestone for private space exploration, Japanese startup Dymon Co. has launched its ultra-compact moon rover, Yaoki, marking the world's first private lunar exploration mission.
The rover was sent into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, according to local media reports.
Yaoki, weighing just 498 grams and measuring approximately 14 centimeters in length and width with a height of 8 centimeters, is set to reach the lunar south pole in early March. Named after the Japanese proverb "nana korobi, ya oki"—meaning "fall seven times, get up eight"—the rover is designed to repeatedly right itself if it tips over, symbolizing resilience in the face of challenges.
Around 50 spectators gathered at the Space Travelium TeNQ museum in Tokyo to watch a live broadcast of the launch, underscoring the event's significance for Japan’s burgeoning private space sector. Once Yaoki lands on the lunar surface, it will spend approximately five days acclimatizing to the harsh temperature conditions before being deployed.
After this critical period, the rover will be remotely operated from Earth for several hours, during which it is expected to capture and transmit high-resolution images of the lunar terrain. Dymon Co. aims to pave the way for private companies to contribute to lunar exploration, setting a new precedent in the rapidly evolving space industry.
South Korea, China, and Japan’s foreign ministers will meet in Tokyo on Saturday to discuss regional cooperation and key issues, according to South Korea's foreign ministry.
Uzbekistan has signed an agreement with French and Japanese companies to initiate uranium production in the Navoi region by the end of 2025.
Tokyo is adopting a 4-day workweek in a bid to help boost the nation's record-low fertility rates.
An explosion at Chuo Spring Co.'s plant in Toyota, Japan, has resulted in one death and two injuries, officials reported on Thursday.
Israel’s far-right politician and leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is set to return to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government amid an intensification of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Germany plans to release an additional 3 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine, marking a breakthrough after Chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously blocked the funds over borrowing rule concerns.
China has appointed Li Xiaolong as vice minister of the Ministry of Housing and the Human Resources Ministry, tasked with overseeing key policies in housing and workforce management.
This Sunday, March 23, negotiations will take place between the US and Russia regarding the details of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The inside of a Herculaneum delicate & ancient scroll, unseen for nearly 2,000 years, has been revealed using Artificial Intelligence.
Regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan process, we cannot forget the years of occupation, and we will not forget them, President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 12th Global Baku Forum.
President Donald Trump has vowed to respond to the European Union's counter-tariffs, escalating tensions over the U.S. steel and aluminum duties that have sparked a trade dispute between the two economic powers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia and Ukraine cease attacking each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days, the Kremlin said following a lengthy phone discussion between the leaders.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams completed an unexpectedly long 286-day mission on the ISS, returning to Earth aboard a SpaceX capsule after delays caused by technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner.
U.S. Commerce Department bureaus have reportedly issued a blanket ban on the Chinese AI model DeepSeek for use on government-furnished equipment, according to sources and a mass email seen by Reuters.
Apple’s current focus on an extensive visual overhaul of iOS 19 and macOS 16—rumored to be inspired by the design language of visionOS—might be distracting the company from addressing a more pressing issue: its long-delayed, underwhelming Siri.
In a sweeping regulatory move aimed at curbing misinformation and enhancing transparency, Chinese authorities have announced new rules requiring all AI-generated content to be clearly labeled.
In early 2025, a new trend dubbed “vibe coding” is reshaping the way software is developed. Coined by computer scientist Andrej Karpathy, vibe coding refers to a paradigm where developers increasingly lean on AI to handle the bulk of the coding work.
Israel’s far-right politician and leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is set to return to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government amid an intensification of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Germany plans to release an additional 3 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine, marking a breakthrough after Chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously blocked the funds over borrowing rule concerns.
China has appointed Li Xiaolong as vice minister of the Ministry of Housing and the Human Resources Ministry, tasked with overseeing key policies in housing and workforce management.
This Sunday, March 23, negotiations will take place between the US and Russia regarding the details of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
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