Chinese private company STAR.VISION Aerospace is working on a project to develop robots for lunar exploration, SpaceNews reports.

Chinese company STAR.VISION Aerospace, which specialises in designing satellites and analysing their data using artificial intelligence, is working with Zhejiang University in China and Middle East Technical University in Turkey to develop a 5-kilogram robot designed to explore the lunar surface,” the newspaper said.

The newspaper noted that the robot development project will take place as part of China’s Chang’e-8 lunar mission, due to be launched in 2028, and that so far private Chinese companies have not been directly involved in government lunar programmes.

It is worth noting that in 2021 the Russian space agency Roscosmos signed an agreement with China on the establishment of a scientific station on the Moon, and within the framework of this station’s programme China is to send Chang’e-6, Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 vehicles to the Moon.