News Releases
Konica Minolta Concludes a Joint Development Agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation for a Manned Pressurized RoverDevelopment of a Dust Removal System in Space and Technical Cooperation Toward Ground-based Applications
July 3, 2025
Tokyo (July 3, 2025) - Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) today announced that the Company concluded a joint development agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) regarding dust removal technology. In collaboration with Toyota, Konica Minolta will study the possibility of developing a dust removal system in space for a manned pressurized rover* (nicknamed “Lunar Cruiser” by Toyota), on which Toyota has been conducting R&D with JAXA, and applying developed technologies to ground-based products.
For over 150 years since its foundation, Konica Minolta has created new businesses by combining core technologies derived from imaging technology and has delivered its unique value. Konica Minolta has also been stepping up efforts to nurture technologies which serve as growth drivers to create future businesses so that the Company can continue to contribute to society by meeting customers’ desires to “see.”
Toyota has been taking on challenges in an international space exploration mission beyond national and regional borders by leveraging the durability and driving performance of its vehicles as well as environmental technologies, including fuel cells. The manned pressurized rover, a vehicle for crewed exploration activities on the moon, is required to drive more than 10,000 km over rugged terrain, including craters, cliffs, and hills, under harsh radiation, temperature, and extreme vacuum conditions. R&D is under way with JAXA in preparation for launch in 2031 or later.
The joint development agreement has been concluded because Konica Minolta’s technology for removing electrostatically charged toner, which it has refined in the field of MFPs, is expected to serve as one of elemental technologies for removing lunar regolith which is likely to adhere to the body of the manned pressurized rover, whose R&D has been conducted by Toyota. The possibility of applying developed technologies and know-how to ground-based products will also be explored in the joint development.
Comment from Keiichi Kishi
Corporate Vice President
General Manager, Corporate Technology Development Headquarters
Konica Minolta, Inc.
More than 50 years have passed since our camera was installed in a U.S. spaceship to capture images of our planet. It is a great honor that our MFP technology will be used in this space development project, which is an entirely different field, and we are deeply grateful for the opportunity. We are confident that our challenge through innovative co-creation by the two companies, which have different cultures and histories, will lead to technological fusion and mutual development and advancement.
Comment from Ken Yamashita
General Manager, Advanced Space Mobility Development Div.
Toyota Motor Corporation
R&D of the manned pressurized rover requires cooperation with various companies. We aim to apply technologies derived from the development to ground-based vehicles and society. We will examine the feasibility of development and application to ground-based products through the initiatives under the joint development agreement.
Konica Minolta will collaborate with Toyota in R&D of the manned pressurized rover and take on challenges in the international space exploration as part of Team Japan, thereby contributing to the development of technologies for a sustainable society by applying the results to ground-based products.
*As envisioned in this project, a vehicle that has an enclosed body equipped with functions and space in which astronauts can live for fixed periods without wearing space suits, that allows entry and exit while wearing space suits, and that enables sustainable mobility on the surface of a moon or planet by way of astronaut operation, remote operation, or autonomous driving.