Moon Express could be landing a probe on the moon in 2017. Image Credit: NASA
Moon Express is set to become the first private company ever to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface.
The ambitious venture, which aims to land on the moon next year, has finally received formal approval from the US government following a lengthy negotiation period.
Moon Express is one several contenders vying to win Google's Lunar X Prize, an international competition designed to send the first privately funded spacecraft to the moon.
So far only two of the sixteen teams taking part have been given permission to launch.
Moon Express is also hoping to take things further with plans to launch a series of follow-up missions including a possible sample return mission by 2020.
"Even though we are a proud contender, it's neither a cornerstone of creating the business nor do we need to win it," said the company's CEO Bob Richards. "But we want to win it."
Oh dear, yet another uneducated reply from Waspie, this is getting really embarassing.... there is absolutely NO REQUIREMENT to get any other Nations agreement to send a vehicle into space. None whatsoever. A US license was really required by India and China to get to the Moon? No of course there wasn´t.. From a legal point of view then your argument falls by the wayside because it holds no water whatsoever. The world does not revolve around the USA or NASA, the freedom to explore is not restricted by any international agreement or treaty, except for the one that says the Moon cannot be claim... [More]
I am afraid that this is not entirely correct. "Due to atmospheric drag, the lowest altitude at which an object in a circular orbit can complete at least one full revolution without propulsion is approximately 150 km (90 mi), whereas an object can maintain an elliptical orbit with perigee as low as about 130 km (80 mi) with propulsion" thanks to WIKI
Understood but I wanted to use the lowest possible agreed upon altitude for the beginning of space to answer pokingjoker's question. Not really relevant anyways as the highest altitude a balloon has traveled to is no where near where space legally, much less scientifically, begins. If we want to get even more pedantic, the X-15 program flew to 50 miles and the USAF determined that was high enough to be called space and awarded those pilots astronaut wings. Given the nature of their mission I'd say good enough
One item not touched upon is with a private company going to the Moon, all the people saying we never landed a manned mission there will finally have to shut their mouths!
They don't specifically. Like ANY civillian launch from the USA they need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. No, that would be illegal under international law.
So are you saying the Karman Line (62 miles) is not the internationally accepted definition of where space begins? The Karman Line is the altitude where air density is so low, the velocity a plane would have to travel at to maintain lift is equivalent to the orbital velocity at the altitude. That is to say, aerodynamics are replaced by orbital dynamics at the Karman Line. If you are saying the Karman Line is not where space begins, perhaps you should contact Richard Branson at Virgin Galactic because he is under the impression it is. Virgin Galactic will be awarding astronauts wings to passe... [More]
Late to the party but i'd imagine one would need some sort of approval given that, at any point in time there's a bazillion aircraft in flight from point A to point B... C, D, and E for them really long flights. Then the thought (god forbid) that the launch goes awry and you've got a bazillion tons of rocket heading back towards Earth... So, yeah, government red tape should be a must IMO. On a lighter note, i squeezed the word bazillion into the post twice. High five!
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