The United Kingdom is set to make its own giant leap soon, with a very small rover.
A 2.2-lb. (1 kilogram), four-legged robot built by London-based Spacebit will launch aboard Astrobotic's Peregrine moon lander in July of 2021, representatives of both companies announced recently.
It will be a flight of firsts — the first mission for both Peregrine and its rocket, United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur; the first trip to the moon's surface by a UK-built craft; and the first time a legged robot has explored another world.
The rover will be moving at least 10 meters on the surface of moon and beam high definition videos and other data to earth during its 10-earth-day mission. This mission is going to be just beginning. If all goes according to their plan, eventually Spacebit aims to launch a fleet of these little robots to explore the lunar sub surface to find out a suitable place for human settlement.
Spacebit's walking rover won't be flying alone on the July 2021 mission; it's one of about 30 payloads that Peregrine will carry to the lunar surface for a variety of customers. Fourteen of those payloads are from NASA
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