Australia's first Moon rover to be named 'Roo-ver'

Roo-ver is heading to the Moon with Nasa

If you got the chance to name a vehicle which would drive on the Moon, what would you call it?

The Australian public were asked to name their new Moon rover, and from more than 8,000 suggestions, Roo-ver was chosen.

The Australian Space Agency were behind the competition, they are working with Nasa to design and build the rover that will go to the Moon.

The winning name was chosen as they wanted the lunar rover to be "named after something iconically Australian".

Roo is a short version of kangaroo - one of the most famous types of animal in Australia.

What will Roo-ver do?

Roo-ver is likely to operate on the Moon for 14 days

Nasa will launch Roo-ver in an Artemis mission in the future.

It will be controlled from Earth and will collect lunar soil from the surface of the Moon.

Different scientific experiments will be performed on the soil by Nasa, like trying to extract oxygen from it.

Being able to produce oxygen on the Moon could help to make rocket fuel there, and in turn support missions taking off from the Moon to places like Mars.

When it is built, Roo-ver is expected to weigh around 20 kilograms, so will weigh and be roughly the same size as a suitcase you might take on holiday.

It will operate on the Moon for 14 days, which is about half of one Moon day.

At this stage, Roo-ver is expected to land in the South Pole region of the Moon.

Nasa is flying it there as recognition for the long-standing partnership between Australia and the United States in space.