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Moon Express: Private Company Prepares For Moon Launch

Moon

Moon Express, a private company from California, has signed a deal with Rocket Lab to launch five trips to the moon, beginning in 2017. These trips will be taken for commercial purposes in hopes of capitalizing on the moon’s natural resources in the long-term.

The objective of these unmanned missions is to test the ability of the company’s MX-1 to safely land on the moon’s surface, grab samples, and bring them back to earth. The MX-1 will be launched into space atop a 16-meter electron rocket owned by Rocket Lab.

The first mission is mostly a test run. If it is successful, a sample-run will be in order, according to Moon Express CEO Bob Richards who informed Space.com, “I sure hope we’re trying [to capture samples] by the third mission, if all is going that well.”

We’re going to be inspired to try a sample-return. I don’t know if we’ll do that on the second mission, but I sure hope we’re trying it by the third mission, if all is going that well.

The Google Lunar X Prize has also been publicized, providing financial incentives to the first private groups who can safely land on the moon’s surface and send high definition video back to earth.

Rocket Lab’s electron launch options are quite affordable, compared to other forms of launches. The electron-style launch costs less than $5 million. Rocket Lab is backed by Lockheed Martin. Its engines are battery powered and created with 3D printers.

According to Reuters, the launch will be conducted either from New Zealand or the US.

NASA funding cuts have opened the space travel doors to more competition in the private sphere. Space exploration by private groups allows for more private control over objectives once space vehicles reach their intended destinations. According to Richards, “We think the collapse of the price to get to the moon is going to enable a whole new market — kind of like the 4-minute-mile of space.”

The race to reach the moon is not a new phenomenon for humanity, but it continues to excite space lovers far and wide, as many mysteries about the moon remain to be fully explained.

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