Australia is putting a rover on the Moon in 2024 to search for water

Australian Space Agency announced plans to send a rover to the moon as early as 2026, under a deal with NASA.The rover will harvest lunar soil containing oxygen, which could eventually be used to support human life in space.Under this mission, Australian technology will be sent to the moon by mid-2024, to hunt water on it.If the plan is successful, it will be the first rover made up of Australia components, to make on Moon.

Earlier, Australian Space Agency had announced in October 2021, its plan to send an Australian-made rover to the Moon by 2026.Australian-made rover is part of a deal of Australian Space Agency with NASA.The rover will collect lunar soil containing oxygen. This soil will be used to support human life in space.

About the Rover

• The Rover is ten-kilogram in weight and having the dimension of 60x60x50cm.
• It will be launched on board the Hakuto lander, which is made by lunar robotic exploration company of Japan called ispace.
• The rover is also built by ispace. It will comprise of an integrated robotic arm, made by private companies called Stardust Technologies (Canada) and Australia’s EXPLOR Space Technology.

What is the work of robotic arm?

• The robotic arm will help in collecting high-resolution visual & haptic data using cameras and sensors. This data will be sent back towards the mission control centre at University of Technology Sydney.
• It will also collect information regarding the physical and chemical composition of lunar dust, soil and rocks with the objective of finding water.
• It will help in identifying regions on the Moon where water sources are more abundant which in turn will help in delivering more usable water for human consumption, mining operations, sample processing and food growth.