Previously, only nations have launched missions beyond Earth’s orbit.
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The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the first first private company, Moon Express, to land a spacecraft on the Moon.
Moon Express’ big mission in 2017 will be to land a robotic lunar module – no humans will make the company’s first voyage – on the surface to collect data and transmit pictures and video.
So far only government missions have flown spacecraft beyond the Earth’s orbit, with the Chinese completing the most recent visits to the moon. The FAA and Department of State concluded that Moon Express’ proposed missions are in compliance with Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty. “In the immediate future, we envision bringing precious resources, metals and moon rocks back to earth”, said Naveen Jain, MoonEx Cofounder and Chairman.
This post was syndicated from The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria. The company hopes to eventually be able to mine the Moon for resources that are hard to come by on Earth, and company CEO Bob Richards said that there is already a regulatory system in place that would allow for this.
Moon Express isn’t building the rocket that will take its probe to the moon itself. This is the first time the federal government has granted approval for a space mission beyond Earth orbit.
While the licensing of “SpaceShip Two” was an anticipated event, the authorization of the Moon Express flight to the lunar surface was hailed by the Space Foundation as a significant commercial space breakthrough.
The FAA created a precedent, granting Moon Express permission to deliver a small lander the size of a suitcase to the moon in 2017. Moon Express compromises of 26 entrepreneurs and engineers.
Moon Express is going where no private company has ever gone before – the moon. If the robot travels 1,650 feet and sends back high-resolution images and data, Moon Express will score $20 million from the Google Lunar-X Prize.
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Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of Space Exploration Technologies, plans to fly a spacecraft to Mars in 2018, a mission that raises a host of issues dealing with protecting potential indigenous life on the planet from contamination by Earth microbes.
