YAOKI rover¶
IM-2 · landed · commercial payload
A 498 g micro rover, about 15 cm across, built to survive 100 g impacts and keep driving when it falls over. On IM-2 it was to deploy five days after landing and take images of the surface within about 50 m of the lander.
PI: not in public sources (Dymon is led by Shinichiro Nakajima)
Built by: Dymon Co. Ltd. (Japan) (company)
| Technology | micro rover (surface mobility, imaging) |
| Moon Base need | #0805 (The study's reading. NASA's Moon Base Users Guide sets a Phase 1 mobility target for small utility rovers and hoppers; YAOKI is a very small commercial rover of that kind. Its maker aims to support lunar base construction; no NASA source links it to a gap.) |
| Route onto CLPS | commercial; Bought by Dymon from the lander company; no NASA selection. Dymon first agreed in 2019 to fly YAOKI on Astrobotic's Peregrine, then moved it to Intuitive Machines' IM-2, as Intuitive Machines' first Japanese customer. When and why it moved is not in public sources. |
| Timeline | first funding not in public sources (first announced 2019); first flight test not in public sources; selected 2019 (Peregrine agreement); IM-2 date not in public sources; launch 2025-02-26; landing 2025-03-06 |
| On the Moon | no data: lander failure |
| FO | none |
Flights before the Moon¶
None found in the public sources.
Heritage hardware¶
- company design: Dymon's own design. The sources name no earlier flight of YAOKI; Dymon reports a 100 g impact rating.
"Withstands impacts of 100G and can be thrown into caves for exploration."
— Project, Dymon project page
- drop test: A 100 m drop from a drone before September 2022: an impact test, not a flight in an operating environment. Found by the second check.
"In the test YAOKI was attached to a drone and dropped from 100 m height, it did not break."
— dymon.co.jp: 202209-presentation-at-iac, presentation sheet text
Funding before the lunar flight¶
- Private (Dymon and Japanese industry partners such as Mitsubishi Chemical). No US government award found (USAspending search for Dymon). Amounts not in public sources. (private; 2019-2025): amount not in public sources
"Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation"
— Wikipedia article "Yaoki", revision 1357722955 of 2026-06-04T08:48:16Z, partners list
How it got onto CLPS¶
"YAOKI is Intuitive Machines’ first Japanese commercial payload and will be deployed five days after Athena‘s landing."
— Falcon 9 launches second lunar mission of 2025 with IM-2 lander - NASASpaceFlight.com"Note that earlier in 2019, Spacebit and Dymon signed an agreement to deliver their first lunar rovers ''Asagumo'' and ''Yaoki'' on Astrobotic's upcoming Peregrine mission in 2021."
— Wikipedia article "Yaoki", revision 1357722955 of 2026-06-04T08:48:16Z
On the Moon¶
YAOKI was never deployed. It was to roll out five days after landing, but Athena lay on its side and lost power in less than a day. Whether YAOKI sent any data in transit is not in public sources.
"(never deployed from partially destroyed lander)"
— Wikipedia article "Yaoki", revision 1357722955 of 2026-06-04T08:48:16Z, infobox"NASA confirmed that lander operations ended at 1:15 a.m., less than 13 hours after landing"
— Wikipedia article "IM-2", revision 1371624151 of 2026-08-27T13:27:19Z
FO's role¶
Grade: none. No FO project, flight or report names YAOKI or Dymon. A foreign company's rover would not normally be FO's to fly.
"YAOKI is Intuitive Machines’ first Japanese commercial payload"
— Falcon 9 launches second lunar mission of 2025 with IM-2 lander - NASASpaceFlight.com
Who built it¶
"A Japanese company, Dymon Co. Ltd., built a small rover to be deployed on the surface. The rover, known as YAOKI"
— Falcon 9 launches second lunar mission of 2025 with IM-2 lander - NASASpaceFlight.com"which is led by robot creator Shinichiro Nakajima"
— Wikipedia article "Yaoki", revision 1357722955 of 2026-06-04T08:48:16Z, revision 1357722955
Moon Base need¶
"Mobility target: "Deployment of small utility rovers and hoppers to conduct science, reconnaissance, and resource discovery" (p. 9)"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: What the architecture says the Moon Base needs"YAOKI aims to play a supporting role in the construction of a lunar base"
— Project, Dymon project page, 'In 2030'
Open questions¶
- Why YAOKI moved from Peregrine to IM-2, and when: not in public sources.
- Dymon's development cost and the price of the ride: not in public sources (Dymon cites about $1 million per kilogram as a general figure).
- Was YAOKI tested in flight (parabolic, suborbital) before IM-2? Not in public sources; Dymon reports a 100 m drone drop.