The lunar rover YAOKI, made from aerospace materials provided by the Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG Group) reached the moon before dawn on March 7, 2025, Japan time, and succeeded in capturing images of the lunar surface and sending the image data to Earth.

YAOKI was developed by Dymon Co., a venture company specializing in robotics and space development. Under the private sector project in which this startup as well as the MCG Group participated, YAOKI became Japan’s first private sector lunar rover to operate on the moon.

The lunar lander of the U.S. space developer Intuitive Machines, on which YAOKI was riding, toppled over on to its side when landing the moon. Due to this, YAOKI could not be released from the lander to run on the moon’s surface as initially planned. However, YAOKI, aboard the lunar lander, captured images of the moon and sent the data to Earth. Also, thanks to the data obtained about YAOKI from launch to the end of the mission, it has been confirmed on Earth that all its intended functions work appropriately on the moon, including the rotation of the wheels.  

Due to participation in the space-related market by companies from the private sector, the market has been expanding globally, and the market size is predicted to reach 140 trillion yen by 2040.

In and after fiscal 2025, the MCG Group, driven by the YAOKI-related project, will launch new aerospace projects, including a project to develop new materials for lunar exploration and a project to develop an innovative graphite sheet business. Through these projects, the MCG Group aims to create innovative solutions by combining a range of highly competitive technologies.