Japan Moon rover sets out for world's 1st private lunar exploration

Japanese startup Dymon Co.'s ultra-compact Moon rover was launched Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as the Tokyo-based firm seeks to become the world's first private company to explore and photograph the lunar surface.The 498-gram rover Yaoki, mounted on U.S. company Intuitive Machines Inc.'s second Moon lander, is expected to reach the lunar south pole in early March.Around 50 people watched a live broadcast of the launch at an event hosted by Dymon at the Space Travelium TeNQ museum in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. Applause erupted when the lander …READ FULL ARTICLE