US Set to Approve Moon Mission by Private Venture: Report

US Set to Approve Moon Mission by Private Venture: Report
Advertisement
In a first, the US is poised to approve the first commercial space mission beyond the Earth's orbit, paving the way for a space startup co-founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur to go ahead with its proposed Moon mission, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The government's endorsement would make way for Moon Express, a relatively obscure space startup co-founded by Naveen Jain, to land a roughly nine-kg package of scientific hardware on the Moon sometime next year, said the report.

The company appears close to obtaining what it has called "mission approval", the Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the details.

It could be first in an array of for-profit ventures throughout the solar system.

The decision is expected to set important legal and diplomatic precedents for how Washington will ensure such nongovernmental projects comply with longstanding international space treaties.

The formal approval, which could be months away, may also pave the way for potential commercial space tourism and asteroid mining ventures.

"We've been a regulatory pathfinder out of necessity," because up to now "only governments have undertaken space missions beyond Earth orbit," Moon Express CEO and co-founder Bob Richards told the Journal.

The proposed mission still poses huge technical obstacles for Moon Express, including the fact that the rocket it wants to use has not yet flown, the Journal said.

Moon Express was founded in August 2010. The company is developing innovative, flexible and scalable new robotic spacecraft that will radically reduce the cost of space exploration and unlock the mysteries and resources of the Moon, according to its official website.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Moon, Moon Mission, Science, Space, US
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Shatter-Resistant Smartphone Launched
Oracle Whistleblower Suit Raises Questions Over Cloud Accounting
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »