Hakuto ( ハクト ) or formerly White Label Space ( ホワイトレーベルスペース ) was a team formed in early 2008 by a group of experienced space professionals inspired by the challenge of the Google Lunar X PRIZE to develop a robotic Moon exploration mission.
43-521: Hakuto was named after the white rabbit in Japanese mythology. The team's original plan was to finance its lunar mission from advertising expenditure of large global companies and the team eventually succeeded in attracting sponsorship from multiple large brands, particularly in Japan. The team went through a number of phases of its organisation and plans. Initially the team was primarily a European effort and led in
86-476: A bleeding paw, leaving the red mark cranes wear to this day. According to the legend, on clear nights, Rabbit still may be seen riding the Moon. Ispace (Japanese company) ispace Inc . is a publicly traded Japanese company developing robotic spacecraft and other technology to compete for both transportation and exploration mission contracts from space agencies and other private industries. ispace's mission
129-461: A future Moon-based infrastructure. The funding for the first two missions was originally secured from a consortium of Japanese funds and companies. In 2018, ispace signed a working agreement with Draper to serve as the team's design agent, which brought about significant changes. In August 2019, ispace announced a restructuring of its lunar program, now called Hakuto-R , in light of rapid increases in customer demand for payload delivery services in
172-594: A launch attempt to reach the moon by the March 31, 2018, deadline... and the US$ 30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE will go unclaimed." In April 2018, it was reported that the leadership ( ispace Inc. ) of the then former Hakuto GLXP team still planned to launch its rover in 2020 on the Astrobotic Peregrine lander mission, launching on an Atlas V rocket. That mission would have included Hakuto's Sorato rover being deployed on
215-562: A lunar mission during the GLXP, but following the cessation of the competition, ispace continued its lunar exploration plans and, in 2018, the company succeeded in raising over US$ 90 million in private funding to develop its own lunar lander in addition to continuing its work on lunar rovers. By September 2018, ispace planned to test their systems by orbiting around the Moon but not land on it. The company signed up for two launches on SpaceX 's Falcon 9 rockets, to take place in 2020 and 2021. ispace
258-483: A new agreement with Team Indus for launch and lunar surface delivery of the rover. That mission was to use the proven PSLV launcher of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) . Team Indus was subsequently confirmed by XPRIZE Foundation to have a valid launch contract and therefore both teams were eligible to remain in the prize beyond the launch contract cut-off date of end 2016. The launch
301-465: A number of major Japanese brands for its lunar mission. Following on from the cessation of the GLXP the leader of the Hakuto GLXP team, ispace Inc. , retained the support of KDDI, JAL and Suzuki, and proceeded to build further corporate partnerships as well as raising large amounts of venture capital funding directed towards an expanded lunar mission program (see ispace Investors ). The Sorato rover
344-519: A partner of a European organization called White Label Space. White Label Space (WLS) was an international team of space engineers that was founded in 2008 to compete in the Google Lunar X Prize , for a grand prize of US$ 20 million to send a spacecraft to the Moon's surface, and have it travel 500 meters. WLS was headquartered in the Netherlands and led by Steve Allen. The European side aimed to develop
387-628: A partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), along with Tomy and JAXA 's Sora-Q transformable lunar robot. Hakuto-R Mission 1 houses another payload, that is, a music disc featuring the song ‘SORATO’ by the Japanese rock band Sakanaction . The song was initially released in 2018 as a part of the Team Hakuto campaign for the Google Lunar XPRIZE . Hakuto-R Mission 1
430-468: A rabbit frequently is shown with the Moon Goddess and another deity related to the Moon. According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl , then living on Earth as a human, started on a journey and, after walking for a long time, became hungry and tired. With no food or water around, he thought he would die. Then a rabbit grazing nearby offered herself as food to save his life. Quetzalcoatl, moved by
473-435: Is also developing a mission concept called Polar Ice Explorer that would prospect for lunar resources on a region near the lunar south pole . On 10 October 2018, an industry team formed by Draper Laboratory , along with ispace, General Atomics , and Spaceflight Industries submitted a proposal for a commercial lunar lander to NASA 's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program. According to Draper, ispace will serve as
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#1732890880169516-591: Is currently in grave danger, so I have come to save her. I hope the Great Sage will spare her for my sake." Sun Wukong reluctantly agrees, and Taiyin Xingjun takes the Jade Rabbit to the Moon and assigns her duties. Presumed to be arising likewise, through lunar pareidolia , legends of Moon rabbits also exist among some indigenous cultures of North and Central America. In Mayan art, glyphs, hieroglyphics, and inscriptions,
559-565: Is still draped in the smoke that rose when the rabbit cast itself into the fire. The rabbit is believed to be a Bodhisattva . A version of this story may be found in the Japanese anthology, Konjaku Monogatarishū , where the rabbit's companions are instead a fox and a monkey. The Moon rabbit legend is popular and part of local folklore throughout Asia. It may be found in diverse cultures in China, Japan, India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. This legend also gave rise to
602-462: Is supported by later texts, including the Song -era Taiping Imperial Reader . As rabbits were not yet introduced to China during Western Han, the original image was not a rabbit but a hare. Han dynasty poets call the hare on the Moon the "Jade Hare" (玉兔) or the "Gold Hare" (金兔), and these phrases were used often, in place of the word for the Moon. The famed Tang poet Li Bai , relates how "The rabbit in
645-611: Is to enable its clients to discover, map, and use natural lunar resources . From 2013 to 2018, ispace was the owner and operator of the Hakuto team that competed in Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP). The team developed a lunar rover named Sorato . ispace is headquartered in Tokyo , Japan , with offices in the United States and Luxembourg . The company's founder and CEO is Takeshi Hakamada. Although ispace later became independent, it began as
688-580: The Mid-Autumn Festivals of China, Tết Trung Thu of Vietnam, Tsukimi of Japan, and Chuseok of Korea, and Sampeah Preah Khae in Cambodia, all of which celebrate the legend of the Moon rabbit. In Vietnamese mythology, the Jade Rabbit on the Moon is often accompanied by the Moon Lady and Cuội , who sits under a magical banyan . The trio has become the personifications of the holiday, when they descend to
731-418: The dark markings on the near side of the Moon as a rabbit or hare . In East Asian mythology, the rabbit is seen as pounding with a mortar and pestle , but the contents of the mortar differ among Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese folklore. In Chinese folklore , the rabbit is often portrayed as a companion of the Moon goddess Chang'e , constantly pounding the elixir of life for her and some show
774-461: The Japan-based members decided to continue the work, establishing a new parent company called ispace Inc. The change included a change of leadership from Steve Allen to co-founder Takeshi Hakamada. Around that time the team also announced the lead engineer as Kazuya Yoshida, a professor of aerospace engineering at Tohoku University in Japan. On July 15, 2013 the team publicly announced the change
817-476: The Moon, casting his shadow there. In Canada and the United States, a Cree cultural legend tells a different story, about a young rabbit who wished to ride the Moon. Only the crane was willing to take him there. The trip stretched the crane's legs as the heavy rabbit held them tightly, leaving them elongated as the legs of all cranes are now. When they reached the Moon, the rabbit touched the crane's head with
860-605: The Netherlands . Later the team changed management and was led in Japan . At different stages of the competition the team had partnerships with two other teams ( Astrobotic and then Team Indus ) for the delivery of its lunar rover to the Moon's surface. Although the competition ended without any team launching their mission, the Hakuto team became a company, struck partnerships, working agreements and became ispace . In 2008, White Label Space
903-472: The company reported that the mission was on track for launch in late 2024, with completion of vacuum testing of the lander. ispace Mission 3, delivering the APEX 1.0 lunar lander to Schrödinger Basin on the far side of the Moon , is expected to launch in 2026. Missions 3 through 9 aim to establish ispace's lunar lander as a high-frequency cost-effective transportation system, while Mission 10 and beyond will begin
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#1732890880169946-471: The developments of the lunar mission. On September 10, 2010 Japan-based members of the team established White Label Space Japan LLC, a Limited Liability Company registered in Japan. On June 11, 2012, it was decided to name unit 2 Rover prototype (PM-2) "White Rabbit" (written in hiragana as「はくと」, which is pronounced "Hakuto"). On January 30, 2013, the European team members had ceased substantial involvement and
989-430: The fairy Chang'e, Taiyin Xingjun descends on a colored cloud. The Monkey King hastily puts away his iron rod, saying, "Old Taiyin, where are you going? I, Sun Wukong, have been avoiding you." Taiyin replies, "The demon you are facing is the Jade Rabbit, who guards the mystical frost elixir in my Guanghan Palace. She secretly unlocked the jade gate and escaped from the palace, and it has been a year since then. I foresee she
1032-503: The final stage of landing led to a rapid descent and hard landing on the lunar surface. Hakuto-R Mission 2, carrying the RESILIENCE lunar lander and micro rover , is scheduled for launch in late 2024. In partnership with UNESCO , ispace will deliver a "memory disk" containing 275 languages and other cultural artifacts, aiming to preserve a piece of humanity alive in case of a future threat to humankind's existence on Earth. In June 2024,
1075-447: The lander just before the attempted landing. CEO Takeshi Hamada believed that the mission had failed, saying "we have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface." Hakuto-R Mission 2 , a lunar lander and rover , is scheduled for launch in 2024. Moon rabbit The Moon rabbit or Moon hare is a mythical figure in both East Asian and indigenous American folklore , based on interpretations that identify
1118-502: The lunar exploration industry, especially from the recent Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract awarded to Draper and its partners, including ispace. A significant change was the elimination of the technology demonstration orbiter mission in 2020 in favor of moving more quickly toward a demonstration of landing capabilities. Hakuto-R Mission 1 is a lunar lander carrying the Emirates Lunar Mission rover Rashid in
1161-465: The lunar surface along with other smaller rovers, including Team AngelicvM 's rover. The proposed landing site was Lacus Mortis . In August 2019, ispace announced a restructuring of its lunar program, since called Hakuto-R . A significant change was the elimination of the technology demonstration orbiter mission in 2020 in favor of moving more quickly toward a demonstration of commercial lunar landing capabilities. The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lunar lander
1204-584: The making of cakes or rice cakes; but in Japanese and Korean versions, the rabbit is pounding the ingredients for mochi or tteok or some other type of rice cakes ; in the Vietnamese version, the Moon rabbit often appears with Hằng Nga and Chú Cuội, and like the Chinese version, the Vietnamese Moon rabbit also pounding the elixir of immortality in the mortar. In some Chinese versions, the rabbit pounds medicine for
1247-462: The moon pounds the medicine in vain" in his poem, "The Old Dust". In the Buddhist Jataka tales , Tale 316 relates that a monkey , an otter , a jackal , and a rabbit resolved to practice charity on the day of the full moon ( Uposatha ), believing a demonstration of great virtue would earn a great reward. When an old man begged for food from them, the monkey gathered fruits from the trees and
1290-446: The mortal world and give out cellophane lanterns , mooncakes and gifts to children. In Journey to the West , when Tang Sanzang passes through India on his journey, a demoness wants to marry him so that she can absorb his yang essence and increase her powers. Sun Wukong sees through her disguise and fights with her. Just as Sun Wukong is about to defeat the demoness, accompanied by
1333-556: The mortals and some include making of mooncakes. Moon folklore from certain Amerindian cultures of North America also has rabbit themes and characters. An early Chinese source called the Chu Ci , a Western Han anthology of Chinese poems from the Warring States period , notes that along with a toad , there is a hare on the Moon who constantly pounds herbs for the immortals . This notion
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1376-462: The new sun, but the wealthy god Tecciztecatl hesitated four times before he finally set himself alight to become the Moon. Due to Tecciztecatl's cowardice, the deities felt that the Moon should not be so bright as the Sun, so one of the deities threw a rabbit at his face to diminish his light. Another version of the legend says that Tecciztecatl was in the form of a rabbit when he sacrificed himself to become
1419-543: The official team name to Hakuto (「ハクト」). On December 4, 2013, the team successfully crowd-funded the development of unit 3 Rover prototype (PM-3). On February 19, 2014, Hakuto was selected in the Milestone Prizes as one of five teams competing in the mobility subsystem section. By 2014, carrying through on the initial vision of the White Label Space team, the Hakuto team had succeeded in obtaining sponsorship from
1462-410: The otter collected fish, while the jackal found a lizard and a pot of milk-curd. Knowing only how to gather grass, the rabbit instead offered its own body by throwing itself into a fire the man had prepared. However, the rabbit was not burnt and the old man revealed that he was Śakra . Touched by the rabbit's virtue, he drew the likeness of the rabbit on the Moon for all to see. It is said the lunar image
1505-414: The prize, the Japan-based members decided to continue the work, and WLS transferred the GLXP participation right to White Label Space Japan LLC. Steve Allen, WLS's leader was succeeded by Takeshi Hakamada. In May 2013, the team's parent company, White Label Space Japan changed its name to ispace, while the GLXP team was renamed "Hakuto" on 15 July of the same year. Team Hakuto did not succeed in undertaking
1548-405: The rabbit's noble offering, elevated her to the Moon, then lowered her back to Earth and told her, "You may be just a rabbit, but everyone will remember you; there is your image in light, for all people and for all times." Another Mesoamerican legend tells of the brave and noble sacrifice of Nanahuatzin during the creation of the fifth sun. Humble Nanahuatzin sacrificed himself in fire to become
1591-404: The team's lunar lander while the Japanese group consisting of Tohoku University Space Robotics Lab and led by Kazuya Yoshida was to develop a rover. In 2010, White Label Space Japan LLC, the predecessor of ispace was founded by Takeshi Hakamada to manage the commercial and technical aspect of the Japanese group. On 30 January 2013, when the European teammates ceased substantial involvement in
1634-425: The team's design agent. On 21 July 2022, NASA announced that it had awarded a CLPS contract to Draper Laboratories and the team. The long-term strategy of ispace is to build landers and rovers to compete for both transportation and exploration mission contracts from space agencies and private industry. NASA aims at contracting private industries to scout and mine lunar water and other lunar resources to support
1677-586: Was donated to the US National Air and Space Museum in October 2019. The team initially planned its own lunar lander but later changed plan to fly their rover on landers operated by other GLXP teams. For most of the duration of the GLXP , the Hakuto rover was planned to be deployed from Astrobotic's Peregrine lander, however for the final phase of the prize, with Astrobotic lacking a launch contract, Hakuto established
1720-548: Was founded in the Netherlands. In 2009, the team registered with the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP). The business plan of White Label Space aimed to make a new type of space technology company that was both attractive to sponsors and also technically strong. Throughout the period 2008 till 2010 the team established partnerships with a number of organisations, mostly in Europe, and White Label Space continued to publish its early progress on
1763-429: Was initially scheduled for 28 December 2017, and then delayed to March 2018. However, on 9 January 2018 it was reported that ISRO had cancelled the launch contract with TeamIndus and, by extension, Hakuto. On 23 January 2018, X Prize founder and chairman Peter Diamandis stated "After close consultation with our five finalist Google Lunar X Prize teams over the past several months, we have concluded that no team will make
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1806-521: Was launched aboard a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket on 11 December 2022, carrying the Rashid rover of the Emirates Lunar Mission and JAXA / Tomy 's SORA-Q transformable lunar robot, both of which Hakuto-R will deliver to the lunar surface. It also houses a music disc featuring the song ‘SORATO’ by the Japanese rock band Sakanaction . The primary landing site is Atlas Crater and landing was scheduled for April 25, 2023 at 16:40 UTC. However, ispace lost contact with
1849-420: Was launched on 11 December 2022 at 07:38 UTC on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, along with Emirates Lunar Mission and NASA's Lunar Flashlight spacecraft. The mission entered lunar orbit on 21 March 2023 with a lunar landing attempt scheduled for 25 April 2023. Communication with Hakuto-R was lost during the final moments of descent to the lunar surface on 25 April. Analysis determined that a loss of propellant in
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