Yaoki[1][2][3][4][5][6] was a Moon rover made by Japanese companyDymon [ja] launched on 27 February 2025 by American companyIntuitive Machine'sIM-2 Athena lander. It landed on the Moon but deployment was not possible as the lander was on its side and the mission ended due to the landers' inability to recharge its batteries.[7][8]
Yaoki was first announced in 2019. The rover weighs 498 grams (17.6 oz) and transportation to the Moon costs $1.2 million per kilogram.
Yaoki refers to the Japanese proverb七転び八起き (nana korobi ya oki). This proverb means "To get back up again and again, no matter how many times you fail" (literally: "Seven times falling down, eight times risen up").[9]
Yaoki is developed by Dymon Co. Ltd.,[10] which is led by robot creator Shinichiro Nakajima. As an automobile engineer, Nakajima also worked on the development ofAudi's four-wheel drive system “quattro”, a defining feature of Audi vehicles since the 1980s. Dymon was founded by him with the aim of developing mobile lunar robots and ground robots.Dymon is a stylized version of the Japanese word大門 (daimon), meaning "big gate."
During The 3rd International Moon Village Workshop & Symposium in Kyoto on December 5–8, 2019,Spacebit[11] signed an agreement with Japanese-based space company Dymon on technical and mission collaboration within the next trip to Moon in July 2021.
First, from the technical side, Spacebit and Dymon will cooperate on the Moon as their Lunar roversAsagumo andYaoki will communicate with the Earth via Astrobotic lander. Within this mission cooperation, Spacebit and Dymon rovers will take each other's photo on the Moon using their own cameras.
Note that earlier in 2019, Spacebit and Dymon signed an agreement to deliver their first lunar roversAsagumo andYaoki on Astrobotic's upcoming Peregrine mission in 2021. Intuitive Machine'sNova-C lunar lander will be launched on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
