China’s space agency has agreed for the first time to allow a commercial space company to participate in a lunar exploration mission, a move that could herald more commercial activity on the moon.
STAR.VISION Aerospace Group Limited, which operates in the fields of satellite design, intelligent satellite platforms and AI data analysis, will team up with Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Middle East Technical University (METU) in Turkey to develop two 5-kilogram microrobots for lunar surface exploration.
The design has been selected for China’s Chang’e-8 mission, scheduled to launch in 2028 on a Long March-5 rocket.
STAR.VISION is the first private Chinese enterprise approved by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to participate in the lunar exploration program.
The three parties will cooperate by focusing on specific areas.
ZJU, which previously provided the imaging device for the Queqiao lunar relay satellite that supported the Changye-4 mission on the far side of the Moon, will focus on engineering aspects.
STAR.VISION is expected to provide algorithms and components.
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