Israeli startup WeSpace Technologies wants to leave its robotic footprint on the moon. The company aims to provide autonomous lunar unmanned aerial vehicles that will deliver customer payloads to hard-to-reach areas. months. WeSpace was founded in 2019 by CEO Ifat Feffer and CTO Yigal Harel, who previously led the groundbreaking program. Beresheet moon landing For the Israeli organization SpaceIL. Beresheet, a fixed four-legged probe, crashed into the surface of the moon While trying to land in April 2019. That same year, Harel and Feffer founded WeSpace, aiming to make a much more sophisticated lunar vehicle.

WeSpace is touting the funnel as an extremely powerful, autonomous spacecraft capable of orbiting the moon using thrusters to fly from place to place using thrusters, hovering over certain areas or delivering payloads to somewhere on the surface — and possibly even gold.

The company believes that the current means of exploring the lunar surface – mainly through rovers – are insufficient to develop a new lunar economy. The company’s website lists the spacecraft’s advantages over other vehicles; These include the ability to explore the Moon’s subterranean lava tubes and operate autonomously in permanently shadowed regions thought to be rich in water ice, which is unfortunately basically communication “darkness”. regions.

“Our autonomous flying robotic systems will perform a variety of lunar missions and gain valuable information about resources on the ground such as water, metals and minerals. They will have scientific and engineering sensors, search for potential habitats and gain valuable data for our customers’ needs, especially in hard-to-reach places where no one can do that.” WeSpace website situation

NASA plans to send humans back to the moon as part of a mission Artemis 3, currently scheduled for 2025. Additionally, the agency hopes to establish a permanent lunar outpost near the moon’s south pole as a springboard for future outposts on Mars. infrastructure to support a permanent presence on the Moon, or Marcy It depends in part on the availability of local resources to increase supplies from Earth, known as On-Site Sourcing (ISRU).

Now WeSpace is competing to represent Israel in this framework NASA Artemis program. After speaking with project managers at NASA, WeSpace appears confident that the lunar bunker design will fit well with the mobility requirements of the Artemis program. According to the report PayloadSpace.com believes the company’s drone will be on its first month mission in less than three years (opens in a new tab).

WeSpace believes the bunker’s capabilities will have far-reaching applications for Artemis, NASA scientists, and numerous research institutions, as well as commercial organizations interested in mining and other lunar exploration. economy in the coming years