Infographic: Tech startup readies for triple moonshot

A technology startup called 'ispace' has raised a further $46 million in a fresh round of crowdfunding, as it sets its sights on three lunar lander missions in as many years – achieving what it says will be the world’s first commercial lunar exploration programme.

To date the relatively small Japanese company has raised $195.5 million dollars through crowdfunding, plus a $500,000 payment from Google’s Lunar XPRIZE contest in 2018, for designing a prototype HAKUTO lunar rover (Hakuto means “white rabbit” in Japanese – inspired by the legend of a white rabbit living on the moon).