The top lunar business news of 2021

A year in review

Lunar Business Highlights of 2021

Image: Columbia Sportswear’s “Omni-Heat Infinity” reflective foil insulation tech is to be incorporated in an upcoming lunar mission. Credit: Columbia Sportswear.

The time of year has come where we reflect on the past 12 months, examining “Year in Review” articles for our respective industries and interests. So, I feel it is only fitting for this newsletter to look back at 2021 and recap some of the most interesting developments of the year.

However, for this review, I’ve chosen to focus strictly on the private sector, excluding major industry news and government initiatives. Further, this list will focus almost exclusively on “non-space” companies getting involved in lunar exploration.

Though there are plenty of exciting stories from the past year about the core players in the lunar industry - lunar lander companies, launch providers, payloads, and so on - there are already plenty of articles out there covering their recent developments. Instead, my intention is to spotlight an unprecedented and intriguing trend—a story which is currently untold outside of the echo chamber of the space industry.

As you delve into the list below, I hope you will find it both inspiring and illuminating how rapidly the “lunar industry” is forming into a real thing. The early momentum of this industry is already creating ripples that are reaching a diverse collection of industries and players around the globe. To further note, this is not even a comprehensive list, but rather just a collection of highlights that I selected.

It was an exciting year for lunar business, and I expect the next year to bring us even more. Until then, enjoy this recap and have a wonderful new year holiday. Thank you for being a subscriber. Cheers.

---

Automotive

• This year, major automakers General Motors (GM), Honda and Nissan each separately revealed plans to develop lunar vehicles.

  • In May, GM teamed up with Lockheed Martin to develop a next-generation, human-class lunar rover for NASA.¹

  • In September, Honda said it’s considering developing avatar robots capable of operating on the Moon. The Japanese automaker is also cooperating with Japan’s space agency, JAXA, to develop a system to produce water and oxygen on the Moon.²

  • In December, Nissan unveiled a lunar rover prototype jointly developed with JAXA.³

  • Note: Now, four of Japan’s top automakers - Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Suzuki - are involved in the design of lunar spacecraft.

• French tire manufacturer, Michelin, is support the tire design for a lunar rover being developed in collaboration with Northrop Grumman and US lander company Intuitive Machines.⁴

Image: A prototype of Nissan’s lunar rover. Credit: Nissan.

Apparel & Outerwear

• Columbia Sportswear announced plans to incorporate its thermal insulation technology called “Omni-Heat Infinity” into Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander for its upcoming mission.⁵

Consumer Electronics & Entertainment

• Sony and toymaker Takara Tomy supported JAXA to design a baseball-sized “transformable lunar robot” to explore the lunar surface.⁶†

• Electronics company Casio is running a joint experiment with JAXA involving the application of its high-precision positioning system to support lunar rovers with the construction of a base on the Moon.⁷ ⁸

Image: Transformable lunar robot Credit: JAXA, Tomy Company, Sony, Doshisha University (I edited the original image to make the graphic above)

Telecoms

• Nokia reiterated its excitement to build a cellular network on the Moon in partnership with Intuitive Machines and shared its latest updates, such as the completion of key engineering milestones⁹ and landing site selection.¹⁰

• The European Space Agency (ESA) signed a contract with UK company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) to be the main customer on their commercial lunar communications satellite scheduled to launch in 2024.¹¹ ESA also contracted SSTL to study how satellites orbiting the Moon could provide commercial services for people and machines operating there.¹²

Food & Beverage

• Strauss Group, the company that owns Sabra hummus, is financially backing an experiment with the long term goal of growing chickpeas on the Moon for future lunar astronauts to be able to enjoy a nutritious hummus snack.¹³

• Space Foodsphere, a space food study group with members including Ajinomoto and NTT Data Corp, is aiming to launch a joint study next year in relation to its submission to Japan’s agricultural ministry call for applications to outsource the development of an agricultural factory on the Moon.¹⁴

Aviation & Aerospace

• British aerospace and defense company Rolls-Royce is studying how a micro-nuclear reactor could be used for mining operations on the Moon.¹⁵

• Aircraft engine producer Hanwha Aerospace became the first company in South Korea to receive government approval to utilize lunar resources.¹⁶

• All Nippon Airways (ANA), kicked off a project to advance robotic avatar technology “to assist astronauts with performing duties in the ISS and future outer space settings, including the lunar surface.”¹⁷

Variety

“Japan needs to take commercial development of the moon more seriously if the country is to remain competitive in the budding space economy. That’s the message to the government from a group of Japanese companies ranging from Sony Corp. and top trading houses to an instant noodle maker.”

- Bloomberg

• A consortium of about 30 Japanese companies, including Ajinomoto, Nissin Foods, Obayashi Corporation, NEC, and Yokogawa Electric, among others, joined legislators from Japan’s ruling political party and academics from the country’s top universities to call on government to foster the creation of a globally competitive lunar industry in Japan.¹⁸

• Bosch, Garmin, Lenovo, Nikon, and GoPro partnered with SAGA Space Architects of Denmark to design a lunar habitat called Lunark.

Well, that’s a wrap for 2021! If you think I missed something, please feel free to comment or send me a message.

---

As always, thank you for reading, and please remember to subscribe for more lunar business news in 2022!

---

† The author of this newsletter is employed by ispace. I do my best to be fair and objective. All opinions and analysis are my own. Read full disclaimer in the newsletter About section.

1. Lockheed Martin, General Motors Team Up to Develop Next-Generation Lunar Rover for NASA Artemis Astronauts to Explore the Moon; General Motors, May 26 2021.

2. Honda to develop rockets and put humans, avatar robots on moon; The Asahi Shimbun, Sept 30 2021.

3. Nissan unveils lunar rover prototype jointly developed with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; Nissan, Dec 2 2021.

4. Northrop Grumman leads team to design an astronaut transportation vehicle for the lunar surface; TechCrunch, Nov 17 2021.

5. Intuitive Machines Strikes Gold with Columbia Sportswear Partnership; Intuitive Machines, Dec 10 2021.

6. Data Acquisition on the Lunar Surface with a Transformable Lunar Robot, Assisting Development of the Crewed Pressurized Rover, May 27 2021.

7. カシオ計算機、JAXAと月面基地の建設に向けた位置測位の実験を開始へ; Yahoo! Japan, Nov 29 2021.

8. カシオ計算機とJAXA、月面基地建設に向け高精度位置測位システムpicalicoによる測位実験を開始; TechCrunch Japan, Nov 30 2021.

9. Nokia is one giant step closer to landing the first cellular network on the Moon; Nokia Bell Labs Institute, Jul 22 2021.

10. NASA, Intuitive Machines Announce Landing Site Location for Lunar Drill; NASA, Nov 3 2021.

11. Path set for commercial communications around the Moon; ESA, Sept 16 2021.

12. ESA awards study contracts for lunar communications and navigation systems; SpaceNews, May 21 2021.

13. Can you grow hummus on the moon? This Israeli at Stanford is going to find out.; The Jewish News of Northern California, June 1 2021.

14. Japan public-private research group to explore food production on Moon; The Mainichi, Aug 11 2021.

15. Rolls-Royce Is Developing a Nuclear Reactor for Mining the Moon and Mars; Interesting Engineering, Sept 19 2021.

16. South Korea greenlights Hanwha to utilize lunar resources; The Korea Herald, Sept 9 2021.

17. avatarin and JAXA Kick-Off Co-Creation Project to Advance “Space Avatar” Technology; JAXA, July 16 2021.

18. Sony, Nissin, Dentu Urge Japan To Take Moon Business Seriously; Bloomberg, Jul 12 2021.