Remebering the origins of White Label Space in Japan

While scanning through my old messages I can across this photo from July 2008 when I first visited professor Kazuya Yoshida at his lab in Tohoku University to discuss partnering with our team to compete for the Google Lunar XPRIZE.

Following my visit he agreed to join White Label Space as the lead for our moon rover development.

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ispace Ready to Send HAKUTO-R Lander to the Moon

Japanese company ispace is ready to make history with its attempt to be the first private company to land a spacecraft on the Moon.

We wish our former GLXP team members the best of success in this heroic effort!

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WLS Japan Engineering Meeting

The White Label Space Japan (WLS-J) team has started recruiting engineers to support the construction of a second rover prototype that will be dedicated to promotional activities such as the upcoming "Rover Challenge", a series of field demonstrations at famous Japanese sights.

The photos below show some of the action from the first engineering meeting.

The meeting included discussions about the specifications for the next prototype (no major modifications are foreseen) and the planning for the engineering work that needs to take place. The next step will be to agree on the form of the new WLS-J engineering unit that will be responsible for the new prototype's production and later the rover flight model for our GLXP mission.

From around March next year the new prototype will be available for the Rover Challenge promotional tour.

The existing rover prototype will remain with Tohoku University for further developments.

WLS-J is steadily growing, and has started to expand its weekly meetings in Tokyo into dedicated sub-teams covering issues such as promotion, business development and legal.

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WLS Japan Fun Meeting 3 - Part 1

This video (in Japanese) shows highlights of the White Label Space Japan Fun Meeting #3. The Fun Meetings, held at the Tokyo Culture Club, are a way for the Japanese public to learn about White Label Space and stay up to date with the team's progress on its Google Lunar X PRIZE mission.

In this video, chapter 1, Takeshi Hakamada, the CEO of White Label Space Japan, discusses the recent press conference that was organized in Tokyo to unveil the rover prototype, as well as explaining some of the background motivations of the GLXP.

Official Fan Meeting to be Held in Tokyo

Do you want to be part of a revolution in private sector lunar exploration?

Nine months after the official White Label Space kick-off event in Japan, the team has reached the end of the planning phase and its spectacular moon mission is about to get underway.

This event will begin with an overview of the team's activities, and then move into an open discussion where everyone is free to interact with the team members, exchanging opinions and ideas or to ask questions about mission. Splinter meetings on specific themes will also be held. The aim of the discussions is to formally adopt the team's mission plan.

Share your ideas, take responsibility and be part of a unique team as it undertakes the first ever open space development. This is a once in a liftetime chance to see dreams becoming reality!

The Google Lunar X PRIZE is a race for unmanned lunar exploration with US$30 million in prize money sponsored by Google. The competition involves 29 official teams from 18 countries, and White Label Space is the only team in Japan. In addition to aerospace engineering professor Kazuya Yoshida of Tohoku University, the team also includes professionals in PR and advertising and management consultanting, as well as young researchers working in diverse fields of the arts and sciences. So to attend this event you are not expected to be a rocket scientist or astrophysicst - creative contributions are sought from everyone!

Please join us at this participatory event and become part of the new wave of open space development!

Programme

Title:
Google Lunar X PRIZE Team Official Fan Meeting in Japan
An official fan event for the Japanese team participating in the US$30 million competition for robotic lunar exploration.

Date and Time: (to be confirmed)
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
Doors open: 17:30
Start: 18:00
End: 20:30

Venue:
TOKYO CULTURE CLUB
Address: 3 1-chome, Koto Ward, Tokyo
(Five minute walk from Yurikamome Station)

Contents:
GLXP overview and introduction of the activities of the mission team. Participants can exchange ideas freely with other members and questions and ideas unmanned lunar exploration mission. Thematic group discussions will also be held.

Presentating:
Takeshi Hakamada, CEO of White Label Space Japan
Other key members of the team will also be on hand for questions and discussions

Tickets:
Advance tickets ¥2,000
Tickets at door: ¥2,500
(Food and drinks are provided for an additional ¥600)

Notes:
Admission is strictly limited to available seating according to numbered tickets.
Food and drinks will be served during the event, but billed seperately (beer ¥600,soft drinks ¥390

Contact:
events@whitelabelspace.com

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Rover Supplier - Ono Denki

Ono Denki (denki being Japanese for "electronic") is known well among the Japanese robotic community and has produced several prototypes for leading researchers.

In mid-January 2011 White Label Space asked Ono Denki to produce the suspension sub-assembly of the team's prototype rover, currently under development at Tohoku University's Space Robotics Laboratory. The work was delayed by the Sendai Earthquake which affected certain parts suppliers, but Ono Denki successfully completed hardware by the 11th of April. The final delivery and inspection took place during a visit by WLS Chairman Dr Andrew Barton and Professor Yoshida of Tohoku University, who is responsible for developing the team's rover.

The photo (left) shows the suspension sub-assembly that Ono Denki produced. The body of the rover interfaces to the block in the middle. The rest of the rover prototype is now being integrated and WLS will hold an unveiling ceremony in mid-2011.

Ono Denki was founded in 1938 and has a long history. The company's CEO is Mr. Ono (pictured right). He is the third generation of his family responsible for the business. A key strength of Ono Denki is the capability to support the entire process from design, machining, assembly, board, wiring, and software development all the way through to final testing and evaluation. The company has several engineers specialized in each of those phases. Thanks to the close communication among engineers involved in each process, Ono Denki provides very high quality to its customers.

Ono Denki has also provided space development-related equipment for JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) and many others. In 2010 in an article by Diamond Weekly, a popular business magazine in Japan, Ono Denki's activities in the space industry were highlighted.

A common belief in Japan these days is that that small companies are in danger of disappearing due to a lack of people interested in carrying on the business. This leads to a fear that the nation's technology level will get suffer due to the loss of know-how. However, steady stream of excellent young engineers who are receiving guidance and mentoring from skilled personnel ensures that Ono Denki will continue to thrive into the future.

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White Label Space East Meets West

April 2001 - The Chairman of White Label Space, Dr Andrew Barton, visited Tokyo to participate in a number of events with the White Label Space Japan team members. The video embedded below shows footage from three particular events; a team strategy meeting, a social event at an Izakaya (traditional restaurant) and a visit to the supplier of the rover's mobility subsystem.

White Label Space Japan fund raising for Disaster Relief

A message from White Label Space Japan

First, we would like to express our sincere sympathy to all those affected by the Tohoku-Pacific Earthquake, Tsunami and following disasters.

We have started collecting relief donations from 7th April 2011via “JustGiving”, UK’s first online fundraising service, for the affected people in Japan by the series of disaster. White Label Space Japan is the only team participating in the Google Lunar X PRIZE from Japan, which will award a total of $30 million in prize money to the first privately funded teams to land a robot on the surface of the Moon and operate specific missions.

As a representative of Japan, we are leveraging our GLXP network with 29 teams participating from around the globe and collecting relief donations not only from Japan, but also the whole world. We will donate all collected funds to CIVIC FORCE, a non-profit association that provides prompt and effective disaster relief to large scale natural disasters in Japan.

■ Term of donation:

from 7th April 2011 to 31st May 2011 (tentative)

■ Where you can donate:

"JustGiving"http://www.justgiving.com/WhiteLabelSpaceJapan

■ The organization where the donations go:

Public interest incorporated association in Japan "CIVIC FORCE"

※What is Google Lunar X PRIZE ?

A total of $30 million in prizes are available to the first privately funded teams to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon and have that robot travel 500 meters over the lunar surface and send images and data back to the Earth.

※What is White Label Space Japan LLC ?

The only team participating in GLXP from Japan, WLSJ is participating in the White Label Space team, founded in the Netherlands. WLSJ is in charge of development of the team's Lunar Rover and PR in Japan.

※About CIVIC FORCE

Civic Force provides prompt and effective disaster relief to large scale natural disasters in Japan. Currently it is transporting relief goods and experts by helicopter and trucks to the affected areas.

この度の東日本大震災において、亡くなられた皆様に深く哀悼の意を表します。被災された皆様へ心よりお見舞い申し上げるとともに、被災地の一日も早い復興をお祈り申し上げます。

民間企業による月面探査を競う総額3000万ドルの賞金レース「Google Lunar X PRIZE（グーグル・ルナー・エックス・プライズ）」に参加するホワイトレーベルスペース・ジャパンは、2011年4月8日（金）よりグローバルな募金活動を展開するファンドレイジング・サイト「JustGiving」を活用した「東日本大震災支援金」の募金活動を実施いたします。

ホワイトレーベルスペース・ジャパンは世界から29チームが参加するGoogle Lunar X PRIZEの日本代表チームとして、独自のネットワークを活用し、日本国内のみならず広く海外からの募金活動（通貨はユーロのみ）を行います。集められた募金は「東日本大震災支援金」として、被災地で支援を行う公益社団法人「CIVIC FORCE」に寄付いたします。集められた寄付金は「CIVIC FORCE」を通じて、被災地の皆様のために活用されます。

■ 実施期間

2011年4月8日（金）〜5月31日（火）（予定）

■ 募金サイト

「JustGiving」URL：http://www.justgiving.com/WhiteLabelSpaceJapan

■ 寄付先

公益社団法人「CIVIC FORCE」

以　上　

※Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP／グーグル・ルナー・エックス・プライズ)について

Googleがスポンサーとなり、X PRIZE財団によって運営される月面探査を競う総額3000万ドルの賞金レース。ミッションは、2015年12月31日までに月面に純民間開発の無人探査機を着陸させ、着陸地点から500m以上走行し、指定された高解像度の画像、動画、データを地球に送信すること

※合同会社ホワイトレーベルスペース・ジャパン（WLSJ）について

日本から唯一GLXPに参加するチーム。欧州宇宙機関（ESA）等で経験を積んだ若手たちがオランダで立ち上げたホワイトレーベルスペースと共同でGLXPのミッションに挑戦しており、主に月面探査を行うローバー開発と日本での広報活動を担当している。

※公益社団法人「CIVIC FORCE」について

被災者の視点を重視し企業・行政・地域とも連携。スピードと質の高い支援を提供している団体

White Label Space Japan Office is GO!

Tokyo, 20'th September 2010 - the White Label Space Japan Office made its official launch at the Tokyo Culture Club.

Key members of the Japan Office were present including Professor Kazuya Yoshida (pictured below), Takeshi Hakamada and Taro Asazuma. Video messages from Peter Diamandis and Andrew Barton were also played.


Guests of the event were also invited to try their hand at remotely writing Japanese characters on a simulated lunar surface (see below), inspired by the lunar zen garden concept developed by White Label Space team artist, Ayako Ono.


Japanese speakers can watch the UStream Video of the event (fast-forward to about 17:30 for the start of the presentations).

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WLS Presents at University of Tokyo

Yesterday, in the team's first major event in Japan, two of the technical leaders in the White Label Space team presented their latest plans for the Google Lunar X PRIZE.


Professor Kazuya Yoshida, the lead engineer of the Rover and Dr Andrew Barton, lead engineer for the Lander, presented to a crowd of over 50 including many prominent members of Japan's space industry. Also sharing the podium was Misuzu Onuki, CEO of NewSpace Consultants and prolific space 2.0 author explained the benefits and challenges of private space exploration with a particular emphasis on increasing Japan's involvement in this exciting field.

Dr Peter Diamandis from the X PRIZE Foundation also joined the proceedings remotely by sending a video email welcoming Japanese involvement in the Google Lunar X PRIZE.

The event also served as a kick-off meeting for the Japanese branch of White Label Space with enthusiastic brainstorming continuing until the early hours of the morning.

White Label Space aims to harness the advertising budgets of some of the world's biggest brands to achieve its Google Lunar X PRIZE mission and the connection with Japan is very important since that country has many of the world's top technology firms and biggest advertisers. The team is planning to develop a "made in Japan" rover that will provide sponsors with a strong platform to reach out to the general public, sending a message of technological advancement and commercial leadership.

Ikegami Camera Shows Full Earth from Moon

This video shows what the surface of the Moon looks like in HD. The footage was taken by a special HD camera developed by Ikegami currently orbiting the Moon onboard the Japan's Kaguya spacecraft (also called SELENE). The camera design is a customised version of the HDL-40, modified by Ikegami to withstand the high radiation, vibration and thermal environment of space.

Tohoku University's SPRITE-SAT Successfully Launched

The SPRITE-SAT spacecraft designed and built by Tohoku Univeristy, a partner of White Label Space, was successfully launched into space last week on a Japanese H-IIA rocket. The satellite was inserted in the prescribed orbit and radio signals from the satellite have been received at the ground station in Tohoku University, and have confirmed that the satellite is in good health.

SPRITE-SAT has now started its mission to observe Sprites and Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGF). The spacecraft was developed by the faculty and students of Tohoku Univeristy, with technical support from external mentors experienced in satellite development. Students played a leading role in the assembly and testing of the spacecraft, giving a unique opportunity for hands-on education in space science and space engineering.

Onboard the satellite was a minature gallery of art, etched onto a silicon wafer by photolithography, making this mission also one of the first art exhibitions in outer space.

Tohoku University, led by Professor Kazuya Yoshida, will use the experience gained from SPRITE-SAT to develop the rover for our Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) mission, which will be a small rover capable of travelling at least 500m across the lunar surface and capturing hi-definition videos and photographs for transmission back to Earth.

Crowd-Sourced Microblogging Space Mission

Yes, it looks like those amazingly inventive Japanese are up to it again...

For those who find that Twitter is just not quite cool enough, now a Japanese non-profit organisation called the Kansai Space Initiative (KSI) has set up space project that will allow microblogging via a space-based server in the form of its 50kg satellite called KaSpl-1, which is due for launch as a secondary payload in 2013. There will be an on-board camera pointing at a digital screen that can display emailed user messages while in orbit... useful hey?

The project will also feature a crowd-sourcing element in that anyone who is interested can pay 3,000 yen (US$33) to get their say in how the project is run. Presumably the launch costs will be paid by those contributions, meaning that about 3000 people will be needed to pay (calculation based on launch cost of $2000/kg times 50kg = $100,000).

How many twitter-holics will be interested financing this project?

(Sources: TechRadar.com article, and Dick's Rocket Dungeon)

Greatest Space Ads Part VIII - Cosmofon's Signal Reaches Space

This funny space-linked advertisement by the Macedonian mobile provider Cosmofon combines their advertising message with a well-known hobby of Japanese people.





Previously in our Greatest Space Ads series:

• Part I - Heinekin on Mars
• Part II - Pizza Hut on the ISS
• Part III - Pepsi on MIR
• Part IV - Space Food Sticks
• Part V - Space Golf by Element 21
• Part VI - Martians with Hewlett Packard Printers
• Part VII - 7Up Spaceflight Competition
  

Lost In Translation - Don't Rely on Babelfish

This is what happens to a company that has no quality control in their translations.

We at White Label Space are interested in helping to spread the word about the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) to other nations where English is not commonly understood. As you may have noticed from our Chinese and Japanese subtitled versions of the Moon 2.0 video, we have already found some translators willing to help out our team... so at least we don't have to rely on automatic web-based translation tool such as babelfish.

And by the way, the correct translation for the chinese writing in the picture is "Restaurant".

Moon 2.0 Video - Japanese Version

We've made a Japanese subtitled version of the Google Lunar X PRIZE promotional video, Moon 2.0 - Join the Revolution.

See: Moon 2.0 in Japanese

Note, there is a small arrow on the bottom right corner of the YouTube viewer it enables/disables the subtitle captions (see How to Show YouTube Subtitles).

This is a brand new feature in YouTube.. let us know what you think about it.

If you want a translation in your language, send us an email at: thestorcargo@gmail.com

Tohoku University Space Robotics Lab to Develop GLXP Rover

In our newest partnership, the Space Robotics Lab at Tohoku Univeristy Aerospace Engineering Department will work with us to design a rover for our Google Lunar X PRIZE mission. The Space Robotics lab is led by Professor Kazuya Yoshida and is one of the top robotics labs in Japan.

Its recent achievements include:

• an IEEE prize-winning contribution to Japan's free-flying space robot project ETS-VII (similar to the Orbital Express mission of the USA)
• contributions to design of the sample acquisition mechanism and touch-and-go sampling sequence of the Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission
• 1st and 2nd prizes at the 2006 ARLISS comeback competition
• development of the 50kg SPRITE-SAT, will be launched on JAXA's H-IIA rocket in early 2009

First Art Exhibition in Outer Space

Call for Space Art;

Tohoku University, Japan, is now developing a small satellite, named SPRITE-SAT, with launch planned for January 2009. The main mission of the satellite is a scientific study of lightening phenomena above the cloud layers but using this opportunity, they are also organizing the first art exhibition in outer space!

To take part in this exhibition you should submit monochrome digital pictures, which will be shrunk to a size of 1mm squares arranged as a mosaic on a silicon wafer fabricated using photolithography technology. The photolithography and etching process will be done on a standard silicon wafer, cut into a 3 cm by 3 cm piece, which will be exhibited in orbit attached on the top of an antenna boom on the top of the satellite. The artworks will also be exhibited on a special web page.

Submitting your artwork:
Please submit a digital drawing in 500×500 pixels, or a line drawing 500×500 pixels resolution. Black and white, no halftones. Submit as a digital file which can be displayed in 10 cm square on a computer screen.

Deadline of submission: August 10, 2008

Please send your submission or any questions to Prof. Kazuya Yoshida:
yoshida@astro.mech.tohoku.ac.jp

Japanese Lunar Exploration and the Google Lunar X PRIZE

How timely that I came across this Hyperbola blog post just after writing our own post on future government support for lunar exploration. It looks like the Japanese space agency JAXA shares many of the Google Lunar X PRIZE's visions for future use of the Moon.
But what a pity that the GLXP website has such a poor Japanese page. It appears that the site has little more than a translation of the main press releases and some information about the teams and key people. Furthermore, after exhaustive seraching we were unable to find a Japanese version of the GLXP promotional video - "Moon 2.0, Join the Revolution".
If the X PRIZE foundation and Google want to engage the large and affluent Japanese appetite for space-related issues they should really invest a bit more money in providing their content in the Japanese language.

Space Art:

Since 1996 Ayako Ono has been exploring humanity's frontiers in the cosmos and imagination with her space art. The role of art is to stimulate the senses and imagination, broaden perceptions, and explore new perspectives. Sometime soon future generations will live far from the earth's surface. The resulting changes to the living environment will necessarily affect a radical transformation in common values. Space Art will help us prepare for the creation of these new values, and help answer the fundamental question of how human beings will evolve with these new values. In tackling this complex proposition, we will explore and invent new notions of beauty in cosmic space, through the interaction between various values systems.