It looks like ‘space race II’ has some real competition now. For the first time ever, a private company has been granted permission by the United States government to land on the moon. Until now, only government entities such as the United States, Russia, and China have defined lunar landings.
The privately funded commercial space company, Moon Express, has Earth’s natural satellite penciled in for a quaint, romantic evening sometime in 2017.
Moon Express plans to bring resources it finds on the Moon back to Earth to benefit humanity. The space company hopes to lower the cost of space travel, as well.
Who knows? Maybe in 10 years we will be hitching Uber rides to the moon.
Since submitting its application in April, Moon Express has had to shake some important hands. The company had to get permission from the Federal Aviation Administration, the White House, the U.S. State Department, NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission.
If Moon Express completes its lunar voyage by the end of 2017, it could take home a $30 million prize from Google Lunar XPRIZE.
The competition rules are simple: land your craft on the Moon, move the craft at least 500 meters (1,640 feet), and transmit two Mooncasts (send videos and photos back to Earth).
Not so fast. Moon Express must beat Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL, which is working towards the same goal. According to Google Lunar XPRIZE, SpaceIL was the first team to have a verified and confirmed launch agreement to space, scheduled for 2017.
Moon Express is already showing off. The company has won Google’s Landing Prize of $1 million and the Imaging Prize of $250 thousand.
Whichever team comes in second only gets $5 million.
The remaining competition includes 16 teams from 13 countries. Only Moon Express and SpaceIL have approved launch contracts. The teams must have a launch contract by the end of 2016 to remain in the competition.
Pressure is on! Go USA!
Watch this introduction to Moon Express for information about their challenge:
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
