Episode 24: Dr. Kazuya Yoshida of Tohoku University, Team Hakuto Google Lunar X Prize and iSpace

Today’s show was recorded at the Canadian Space Society’s annual Space Summit in Ottawa on November 21st. Among the keynote speakers invited by the Canadian Space Society are usually two from outside Canada.I spoke with Dr. Kazuya Yoshida of Tohoku University in Japan.Dr. Yoshida is also a Director and Chief Technology Officer of iSpace, a Japanese New Space startup with ambitions to use the moons resources, water to start, to develop a lunar economic base. iSpace also manages the Japanese Google Lunar X Prize entry, Hakuto.Dr. Yoshida is a robotics expert and has served as the Director of the Centre of Robotics for Extreme and Uncertain Environments at Tohoku University. He has worked for many years on Japanese robotic missions including the asteroid sample return mission Hayabusa. The technology and rovers developed at his lab at Tohoku University have also been used in disaster response.Dr. Yoshida and his colleagues at Tohoku University are also developing what he calls “Cliff Hanger” and “Rock Climber” robotic machines designed for future asteroid exploration and which could also be used on the moon.Dr. Yoshida and his colleagues have developed a rich knowledge base in microsatellite and rover technology development.As you’ll hear, iSpace is looking beyond the Google Lunar X Prize and will announce its first round of equity venture funding in the near future.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.