Tag: Moon Express
-
Google Lunar X Prize clears five teams for moon race and pays out $1 million
An artist’s conception shows SpaceIL’s lander on the moon. (SpaceIL Illustration) The organizers of the Google Lunar X Prize competition confirmed that five teams have been cleared to go after the $20 million grand prize, and doled out a total of $1 million to all 16 teams that entered. These five teams previously reported that…
-
Moon Express reportedly has the money for moonshot – but launch is up in the air
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ lander extending its robotic arm to take a “selfie” of the spacecraft on the lunar surface with Earth in the background. (Credit: Moon Express) An executive at Moon Express has been widely quoted as saying his company has reached its funding goal for this year’s planned commercial mission to the…
-
NASA puts out call for lunar experiments, and Moon Express says it’ll help pay
An artist’s conception shows a Moon Express lander in lunar orbit. (Credit: Moon Express) NASA wants suggestions for experiments that can be sent to the moon on commercial spacecraft – and Moon Express, one of the companies building those spacecraft, wants to kick in up to $500,000 per experiment. The experiments would be aimed at filling the…
-
Moon Express wins a green light from U.S. government for its lunar mission
An artist’s conception shows the Moon Express MX-1 lander in lunar orbit. (Credit: Moon Express) BELLEVUE, Wash. – Moon Express says it has received preliminary clearance for the robotic lander that it plans to send to the moon next year, after a voluntary payload review involving the Federal Aviation Administration and other federal agencies. The clearance…
-
White House works out a process to clear commercial missions to moon and Mars
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ MX-1 lander extending its robotic arm to take a “selfie” of the spacecraft on the lunar surface with Earth in the background. (Credit: Moon Express) After months of discussion, federal agencies are closing in on a process to approve commercial missions to other celestial bodies – including the moon, Mars…
-
Moon Express asks FAA to review its plans for Google Lunar X Prize landing in 2017
An artist’s conception shows the Moon Express MX-1 spacecraft orbiting the moon in preparation for landing. (Credit: Moon Express) Moon Express, the lunar exploration venture backed by Seattle tech entrepreneur Naveen Jain, says it’s asking the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a payload review of its spacecraft and plans for a mission to the moon…
-
J.J. Abrams’ ‘Moon Shot’ online documentary series focuses on Google Lunar X Prize
“Moon Shot” focuses on the rocketeers who are aiming for the moon. (Credit: GLXP) Film director/producer J.J. Abrams has been in on two of the biggest space-movie franchises ever, “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” – so maybe it shouldn’t be that surprising that he’s also in on “Moon Shot,” an online documentary series that tracks…
-
Moon Express wins thumbs-up from XPRIZE for multimillion-dollar lunar launch
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ lander on the way to the lunar surface. (Credit: Moon Express) Moon Express, the lunar exploration venture co-founded by Seattle entrepreneur Naveen Jain, has gotten the “all systems go” signal for its bid to put a robotic lander to the moon and win the Google Lunar XPRIZE. The thumbs-up comes…
-
Moon Express and Rocket Lab make deal for lunar landings in 2017
Moon Express co-founder and CEO Bob Richards shows off a model of the MX-1 lunar lander in 2013. (Credit: Moon Express via YouTube) Moon Express says it has reserved three lunar lander launches from a startup called Rocket Lab starting in 2017, with an eye toward putting robots on the moon’s surface and winning the…
-
Former Atlas launch pad gets a new tenant
Artist’s concept of the Moon Express MX-1 spacecraft flying to the moon. Credit: Moon Express A decommissioned launch facility at Cape Canaveral where some of America’s first interplanetary missions left Earth will now be used as a test site for a commercial moon lander. Moon Express signed an agreement Thursday with Space Florida, a state…