Japan believes it is paramount to have a moon base as a precursor to exploring the solar system, and their first step in making that a reality will be to send robots there to begin building the base.
The robots are expected to be on the moon by 2015 to start scoping out the area, and ultimately to start building the lunar base by 2020 near its South Pole.
Surveying the moon would entail the 660 pound robots to gather rocks, take photos, and send both back to earth for evaluation.
The initial base will be constructed by the robots by and for themselves, but ultimately human colonizers could inhabit the base, which is planned to be powered by solar panels.
Costs are relatively low at $2 billion, if they hold, which when considering robots, they might.
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