This High-Tech Japanese Robotic Arm Will Help Build NASA’s Moon Base

On 31 March 2025, studies on the GITAI robotic arm were officially completed by the US-based Japanese space firm as it prepares for application. This arm will be in use on a lunar rover that the Japanese space agency JAXA, the awardee of this contract, will develop.

NASA Artemis Mission To Benefit From The GITAI Robotic Arm

The JAXA contract to GITAI for its conceptual study of a robotic arm that will be in use on a lunar rover is in support of the NASA Artemis mission. Now the US-based Japanese space firm is announcing that it has completed its study of this crucial part of the coming lunar rover and is ready for development.

This study covered the concept design for this arm’s system, its interface, and its operation. The arm will be remotely or autonomously controlled while attached to the lunar rover and will help perform a wide range of activities.

GITAI plans that this arm will be in use across a number of lunar exploration missions once the rover which Toyota will develop, gets to the moon. This arm will fill a lot of roles during lunar exploration, and GITAI has outlined a few of its applications.

The tasks that this robotic arm will partake in are “regolith excavation, rock and soil sample collection, unloading, handling and installation of large payloads such as scientific instruments and observation equipment.” According to GITAI, “these functions are expected to significantly expand the scope and duration of lunar surface research.”

The GITAI Robotic Arm Will Bring Japanese Astronauts On The NASA Artemis Mission

As pointed out in the previous paragraph, this coming lunar rover which will feature the GITAI Robotic Arm, will support the NASA Artemis mission. The lunar rover will serve as a home and a means of transportation for the astronauts that NASA will send to the Moon on its Artemis mission.

Since the Japanese JAXA Space Agency is funding the development of this arm and Japanese carmaker Toyota is developing the lunar rover, the US hopes to repay their services. As repayment for the development of the gears necessary for future NASA Artemis missions, the US will include Japanese astronauts in the mission.

There is currently no schedule for the NASA Artemis mission that will put the GITAI Robotic Arm to use. Also, we currently don’t have any official information on the development timeline for the robotic arm and lunar rover.

However, we expect the arm to be ready by 2030 to match NASA’s plan to return to the Moon. We look forward to seeing the GITAI Robotic Arm in action on the NASA Artemis mission that will return humans to the moon.