Several of Taiwan’s top scientific agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NASA on the development of an unmanned lunar probe for a mission scheduled for 2020.
According to one of the agencies, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology (NCSIST), NASA is planning to explore the possible existence of water in the darkest areas of the moon. NCSIST and other agencies will handle the development of the unmanned lunar probe. NASA will test the probe in 2018 and send the probe to the moon in 2020 loaded with a lunar rover and other equipment.
The NCSIST says it has experience developing technologies similar to those to be used in the unmanned probe. However, the agency said, the biggest challenge for this mission will be to ensure that the equipment will work reliably under the harsh conditions of space.
The NCSIST said it has previously been in charge of developing a space computer for the International Space Station (ISS). The computer has been functioning reliably since 2011, winning NASA’s recognition of Taiwan’s R&D capability in space technologies.