Japanese startup raised $ 90 million to advertise on the moon

Giga wants to install the first billboard on Earth’s satellite in 2020

Tokyo-based startup Gigafile said it raised 10.2 billion yen ($ 90 million) from major Japanese companies, including Japan Airlines and Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings. In addition, the project received the support of government agencies - INCJ Corporation and the Japan Development Bank. Giga plans to launch a spaceship in lunar orbit for the investments received in 2019, and in 2020 - to put the device on the lunar surface, reports MG .

Giga calls its goal the development of the "lunar economy", primarily marketing. At the first stage, the company promises to place advertising logos on its spacecraft, as well as to shoot in space, selling footage for advertising campaigns.

In the event of a successful landing on the lunar surface, a startup can offer installation of billboards on a satellite, said Giga CEO Takeshi Hakamada. According to him, many corporations will want them to have their own billboard on Earth.

Since 2021, Giga wants to start the search for water on the moon by sending special all-terrain vehicles. From it you can get hydrogen fuel, which will support the first lunar settlements. According to the company, on the moon you can find billions of tons of water, although there is little serious evidence for this. A NASA study released in July 2017 said that there might indeed be large water supplies beneath the lunar surface.

Ispace began work on its project as part of the Lunar Xprize contest, sponsored by Alphabet, Google’s parent holding. According to the terms of the competition, the first team that will be able to reach the lunar surface will receive $ 20 million. The initiative was launched in 2007. At first, the participants were supposed to achieve the goal by 2012, but the deadlines were repeatedly postponed due to the technical and financial problems of the competitors, recalls Bloomberg.

Many private companies have plans for space exploration. SpaceX Ilona Mask plans to send the first space tourists to fly around the Moon in 2018, and in 2024 to begin the colonization of Mars by sending the first expedition there. Startup Moon Express is working on devices that can land on the surface of the moon and collect soil samples.