A Japanese Startup Will Try to Land on the Moon Next Year

Image: Team Hakuto/ispace Inc Going to the Moon is officially hip again, thanks in no small part to Google, which is offering $20 million to the first private company that can land on our nearest neighbor, roll around a bit, and beam images back to Earth. The latest contender for that sweet sweet X-Prize money is a Japanese company, which has just obtained a launch vehicle for the shiny metal cheese grater rover it plans to send to the Moon late next year.