sciencetech-blog

comments

It is set to be the first advert on the moon - and the first time a soft drink can has been abandoned on the lunar surface.

The Japanese makers of the Pocari Sweat drink today announced plans to send a specially designed can made of titanium and engraved with messages to the lunar surface in 2015.

The handwritten messages, gathered from Japanese children and internet users, will be stored as data in 120 titanium plates to be packaged in the lander, called a 'dream capsule'.

Scroll down for video

The Japanese makers of the Pocari sweat drink plan to send a specially designed can made of titanium and engraved with messages to the lunar surface in 2015.

HOW IT WILL GET THERE

 The can will launch on a Falcon 9, designed to be a potentially reusable means of space travel by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

After the Falcon 9 rocket has ignited its second-stage boosters and completed a four-and-a-half day journey to the moon, the Pocari Sweat-branded canister will be deposited on the surface by private company Astrobotic Technology's 'Griffin' lander.

The firm is developing the lander (above) to try and win Google's $20-million prize for the first company to land a device on the moon that can both travel 500 meters on the surface and transmit high-definition pictures back to Earth.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical said the capsule will launch from Florida in October 2015.

'Until now, the space travel was only possible at a national project level,' the firm said.

'Now, we want to realize it privately and get to the moon.'

The capsule to be delivered to the moon is made out of titanium, shaped like a Pocari sweat can, and weighs 1,000g.

To continuously endure the harsh environment of the moon where the temperature shifts from minus 170℃ at night to 110℃ during the day, the capsule was developed specifically for this project.

The capsule will be conveyed to the moon by the Falcon 9 rocket during a four and a half day journey.

How it works: Messages will be included alongside a powdered form of the drink

The Falcon 9, designed to be a potentially reusable means of space travel by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has already made three successful supply runs to the International Space Station.

However, the planned mission in October 2015 would be the first time one of its rockets has successfully provided propulsion to the moon.

After the Falcon 9 rocket has ignited its second-stage boosters and completed a four-and-a-half day journey to the moon, the Pocari Sweat-branded canister will be deposited on the surface by private company Astrobotic Technology's 'Griffin' lander.

The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from space launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, America. The Falcon 9, designed to be a potentially reusable means of space travel by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has already made three successful supply runs to the International Space Station and will be used as part of the new project.

The company hopes the missiopn could help it win Google's Lunar X prize, a $20-million bounty for the first company to land a device on the moon that can both travel 500 meters on the surface and transmit high-definition pictures back to Earth.

Astrobotic's deal with Otsuka will provide them with funds to achieve this goal — the company reportedly charges upwards of half a million dollars for lunar delivery.