"MOON" is a moon ball that reproduces the surface of the moon in 3D. It is produced based on the lunar topography data acquired by the lunar orbiting satellite "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter".


The concept is "encounter of design, technology, science and art". Unlike the conventional lunar sphere, which is "just pasted a photo or illustration on a sphere," the unevenness of the surface of the moon is reproduced three-dimensionally at 1/20 million. This makes it possible to intuitively understand the height and depth of famous craters such as "Tycho", "Clavius", and "Copernicus".



The feature is that it comes with a ring-shaped LED light that plays the role of the "sun". This LED light illuminates the surface while rotating around the moon, expressing the "moon phases".



The light from the LED lights makes the craters and the sea on the surface of the moon look more realistic. Depending on the angle of the light, the length of the shadow extending from the crater also changes, so depending on the shooting method, you can take pictures that look like the real moon.


The LED light has three modes: "manual" that illuminates any place, "demo" that rotates once in 30 seconds, and "live" that expresses the shape of the current moon.


Notable is the "live" mode. By selecting this mode, it is possible to know the shape of the moon in real time. Just as the actual moon shifts to the new moon, crescent moon, half moon, and full moon and then returns to the new moon, the "live" mode also repeats the cycle of 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes 2.80 seconds.


It measures 370 x 330 x 180 mm and weighs 1.8 kg. An area of 550 x 550 mm is required for the LED lights to rotate. Comes with a 5V adapter that supports 100-240V 50/60 Hz.


The team was created by Oscar Lhermitte, Alex Du Preez, and Peter Krige, who live in London, England. They are currently conducting a campaign to recruit investors on the crowdfunding site kickstarter for the commercialization of "MOON". At the time of writing this article, one "MOON" is available with an investment of £ 500 (about 78,000 yen). The retail price after the campaign will be £ 700. Shipment is scheduled for December 2016.