The Moon Express Lunar Lander
Recently, Moon Express delivered its Mission design package to NASA. This Preliminary Design Checkpoint Technical Package is part of its $10M Innovative Lunar Demonstration Data (ILDD) contract. Moon Express provided NASA continuing data on the development of its commercial lunar robotic missions and plans to mine the Moon for precious planetary resources.
Here’s an excerpt from the press release that went out today:
Moon Express, a Google Lunar X PRIZE contender, announced today that it has successfully delivered a mission design package to NASA under its Innovative Lunar Demonstration Data (ILDD) Program, providing NASA continuing data on the development of the company’s commercial lunar missions and plans to mine the Moon for precious planetary resources. The newest task order in the $10M ILDD contract called for Moon Express to provide NASA with data about the company’s progress through a Preliminary Design Checkpoint Technical Package that documents details of mission operations, spacecraft development, payload accommodations and Planetary Protection Plans.
Technology luminaries Naveen Jain and Barney Pell teamed with space visionary Bob Richards in the founding of Moon Express in 2010, announcing a partnership with NASA to develop a new robotic spacecraft capable of going to the Moon and asteroids. Silicon Valley-based Moon Express was one of only three U.S. companies awarded funding under NASA’s ILDD program in that year. Although the ILDD contract is an important substantiation of NASA’s interest in commercial lunar providers, the majority of Moon Express funding is coming from private investment and is supplemented by revenues from payload customers.
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Tags: Google lunar X PRIZE, lunar lander, mining, X PRIZE
