The Japanese company iSpace has completed the assembly of a miniature lunar rover, which will head to the Moon this year. The microrover, named Tenacious, was developed by iSpace's European division in Luxembourg and will be sent to Japan for integration into the Resilience lander of the company's second HAKUTO-R mission.

Tenacious is a compact device measuring 26 cm in height, 31.5 cm in width, and 54 cm in length. The microrover weighs about 5 kg. It is equipped with an HD camera mounted on the front, intended for capturing images of the lunar surface. The rover will be controlled and its data received by ground stations on Earth through the lander, as reported on Space.com.

This is iSpace's second attempt to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. The first attempt, made in April 2023, ended in failure due to software issues. However, the company, fueled by widespread interest in lunar missions and partially funded by the Luxembourg Space Agency under a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), has continued its efforts in this direction.

“I am pleased to witness the completion of the development, manufacturing, and actual dispatch to the Moon of the first European rover from Luxembourg,” said Tadahiro Matsubara, Japan's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Luxembourg, in a statement. “This is an important step for the Luxembourg government, which is actively promoting the industrialization of the space sector,” Matsubara added.

Tenacious will be delivered to the Moon aboard the Resilience lander. The launch is scheduled for the end of this year from Cape Canaveral in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. In addition to Tenacious, this same lander will deliver commercial and scientific equipment to the Moon, contributing to NASA's Artemis program.

Notably, iSpace is also working on its third mission, which will be the first to use the developing lunar module APEX 1.0. This mission is expected to launch in 2026.