Robotic Spacecraft Launch News: First Private Moon Landing by 2017 Gets OK from US Gov't
In a historic ruling by the US government, a private spaceflight venture gets the green light to land on the Moon, paving the way for future commercial lunar explorations.
Moon Express, a start-up company based in Cape Canaveral, Florida, announced Wednesday that they have received authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch its robotic spacecraft on the Moon.
This marks the first time the federal state has granted approval for a private mission beyond Earth. Prior to this, commercial spaceflights have been limited to within the Earth's orbit, sending off satellites or delivering cargo to space stations.
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Moon Express needs to accomplish the feat by 2017—the deadline set by the Google Lunar X international competition for the first private spacecraft to reach the moon.
The Lunar X prize, which was announced in 2007, called to finance a spacecraft that can send back high-resolution images and videos of the Moon and move by around 500 meters. The first one to achieve this will win $20 million, while the second, $5 million.
Moon Express was just one of 30 competitors for the prize. Meanwhile, Israeli company SpaceIL, was the second to secure launch contracts.
So far, the company still needs to assemble the lander for its Electron rocket. Beyond the hardships of preparing for space travel, however, were other roadblocks: regulatory frameworks.
The Outer Space Treaty, which was signed in 1966, required that Moon Express abide by three critical points: first, that the company continuously update the FAA regarding its activities on the lunar surface; second, that it must not disturb other nations' space missions; and third, that it must adhere to planetary protection—that is, preventing the contamination of other worlds.
To close its contracts, Moon Express routed its payload applications to the FAA, and was pored over by other federal agencies before finally getting the go signal on July 20, the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
Beyond winning the Lunar X prize, however, the company sees this as an opportunity to eventually mine the moon for rare minerals, such as iron ore, water, and Helium-3.
Helium-3 is a rare nonradioactive isotope that can be used as a fuel in nuclear fusion plants.
In a press release, co-founder and chairman Naveen Jain said, "In the immediate future, we envision bringing precious resources, metals, and Moon rocks back to Earth. In 15 years, the Moon will be an important part of Earth's economy, and potentially our second home."
