Lunar Excursion Vehicle-1 (LEV-1), a small astronomical observation rover developed by project manager\u00a0Yasuharu\u00a0Kunii, is mounted on the H-IIA rocket (operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA) which was launched toward the Moon on September 7, 2023. LEV-1 is attached to the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), a demonstration vehicle that will land on the moon, which was also mounted to the H-IIA rocket. LEV-1 will be deployed and separated from SLIM just before SLIM lands on the lunar surface. The LEV-1 vehicle, which weighs around 2 kilograms, will fulfill its mission to communicate with LEV-2, which will also be deployed from SLIM and automatically traverse the lunar surface to gather data about SLIM landing conditions and take images from the lunar surface. LEV-1 is also tasked with sending this information directly back to Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Development Background]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, the sister vehicle to LEV-1 is a small hopping robot known as \u201cRED,\u201d which we are currently researching and developing. Both LEV and RED were originally designed to be equipped in SLIM. With the allowable payload reduced to the minimum, LEV was selected because its functions had been streamlined to the extreme, leaving RED behind. However, the development of RED has continued, and its legacy is being carried forward for the future of the Moonshot Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n