Moon Express

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Moon Express
Company type
Private
IndustryAerospace
Founded2010
HeadquartersCape Canaveral, FL 32920
Key people
Robert D. Richards, Naveen Jain, Barney Pell
Websitemoonexpress.com

Moon Express (MoonEx; vehicle model prefix: MX) is an American privately held company formed in 2010 by a group of

economic value.[1][2]
The company was not able to make a launch attempt to reach the Moon by March 31, 2018, the deadline for the prize.

Since late 2018, and as of February 2020[update], Moon Express focused on supporting NASA under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract.[3]

History

In August 2010,[4] Robert D. Richards,[5] Naveen Jain,[6] and Barney Pell co-founded Moon Express, a Mountain View, California-based company that plans to offer commercial lunar robotic transportation and data services with a long-term goal of mining the Moon for resources,[7] including elements that are rare on Earth, including niobium, yttrium and dysprosium.[1][8]

Beginning in 2010, Moon Express based itself at the NASA Ames Research Center. Moon Express and NASA signed a contract in October 2010[9] for data purchase that could be worth up to US$10,000,000.[1][10]

On June 30, 2011, the company held its first successful test flight of a prototype lunar lander system called the Lander Test Vehicle (LTV) that was developed in partnership with NASA.[5] On September 11, 2011, Moon Express set up a robotics lab for a lunar probe named the "Moon Express Robotics Lab for INnovation" (MERLIN) and hired several engineering students who had successfully competed at the FIRST Robotics Competition.

In mid-2012, Moon Express started work with the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) to put a shoebox-sized astronomical telescope called International Lunar Observatory on the Moon.[11]

By 2012, MoonEx had 20 employees, and in December 2012, MoonEx acquired one of the other Google Lunar X-Prize teams, Rocket City Space Pioneers, from Dynetics for an undisclosed sum. The agreement made Tim Pickens, the former lead of the RCSP team, the Chief Propulsion Engineer for MoonEx.[12] In September 2013, MoonEx added Paul Spudis as Chief Scientist and Jack Burns as Science Advisory Board Chair.[13]

In October and November 2013, Moon Express conducted several free flight tests of its flight software utilizing the NASA Mighty Eagle lander test vehicle, under a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.[14] One month later, in December 2013, MoonEx unveiled the MX-1 lunar lander, a toroidal robotic lander that uses high-test hydrogen peroxide as its rocket propellant to support vertical landing on the lunar surface.[15] On April 30, 2014 NASA announced that Moon Express was one of the three companies selected for the Lunar CATALYST initiative.[16]

By December 2014, Moon Express successfully conducted flight tests of its "MTV-1X" lander test vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, becoming the first private company (and GLXP team) to demonstrate a commercial lunar lander test.[17]

In 2015, the company announced that it would lease part of Florida's Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36 for 5 years, and relocate operations there.[18] In July 2016, Moon Express stated it would leave LC 36 and be taking over Cape Canaveral Launch Complexes 17 and 18.[19]

On July 20, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration approved Moon Express plans for a mission to deliver commercial payloads to the Moon, making Moon Express the first private company to receive government approval for a commercial space mission beyond traditional Earth orbit under the requirements of the Outer Space Treaty.[20][21]

On October 31, 2017, NASA extended the no-funds Space Act Agreement with Moon Express, for the Lunar CATALYST initiative, for 2 more years.[22]

On July 12, 2018, both historic launch towers at

Space Launch Complex 17 were demolished via controlled demolition to make way for Moon Express facilities to test its lunar lander.[23] That month, Moon Express was unable to make payroll and laid off nine employees; the employees did not receive back-pay until October 2018.[24]

In October 2018, the company signed several collaboration agreements with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and a number of Canadian aerospace companies.[25]

On November 29, 2018, Moon Express joined the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program of NASA, becoming eligible to bid on delivering science and technology payloads to the Moon for NASA.[26][27]

[needs update]

Google Lunar XPRIZE

The company was a competitor in the Google Lunar X Prize.[28] The prize was an award of $30 million to the first team to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon and deliver data, images and video from the landing site and from 500 meters away from its landing site.[6]

Moon Express signed a contract with

Electron launches of Moon Express robotic spacecraft in pursuit of the X Prize, starting in 2017.[29][30]

The first mission, called the Lunar Scout, was planned for 2017 (later delayed to July 2020) and would use the MX-1E lander.[31] This was a technology demonstration flight that included three payloads:[32]

The second mission was the Lunar Outpost MX-3,[35] a robotic lander to the lunar south pole that would scout for water ice and other lunar resources.[32] The third mission, called Harvest Moon, would be a sample-return mission.[32]

By October 2015, there were 16 teams competing for the prize. On January 23, 2018, X Prize founder and chairman Peter Diamandis stated "After close consultation with our five finalist Google Lunar X Prize teams over the past several months, we have concluded that no team will make a launch attempt to reach the moon by the March 31, 2018, deadline."[36]

Following the end of the Google Lunar X Prize, Moon Express shelved the planned lunar lander missions and turned its efforts toward competing in the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program instead.[3]

Spacecraft

MX-1
ManufacturerMoon Express
DesignerMoon Express
Country of originUS
OperatorMoon Express
ApplicationsCommercial lunar transport
Specifications
Spacecraft typeRobotic lunar lander
BusMCSB[37][38]
Launch mass250 kg (550 lb) [39]
Payload capacity30 kg (66 lb) [39]
Power200 W[39]
Capacity
Payload to {{{to}}}
Production
StatusIn development
Maiden launch[to be determined]
Related spacecraft
DerivativesMX-2, MX-5, MX-9
PECO[39]
Powered by1
PropellantRP-1 / hydrogen peroxide

The company's robotic spacecraft are based on NASA's Modular Common Spacecraft Bus (MCSB),[37][38] which are modular and scalable platforms that can be configured as landers or orbiters.[40]

All MoonEx robotic spacecraft use low-toxicity fuels, advanced carbon composites and silicates and a Moon Express PECO rocket engine.[41] The PECO main engine uses RP-1 as a fuel and hydrogen peroxide as an oxidiser. The landing thrusters use hydrogen peroxide as a monopropellant.[42] PECO stands for 'propulsion that is eco-friendly'.[43] The company has the "MX lander family":[35]

  • MX-1 – a single-engine spacecraft with a mass of 250 kg (fuelled); 30 kg payload capacity.[39]
  • MX-2 – a twin-engine spacecraft with a 30 kg payload capacity.
  • MX-5 – a 5-engine platform configuration that can include MX-1 or MX-2 staged system. The MX-5 has a 150 kg payload capacity.
  • MX-9 – a 9-engine platform configuration, designed for sample return. The MX-9 has a payload capacity of about 500 kg.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Hennigan, W.J. (2011-08-20). "MoonEx aims to scour Moon for rare materials". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-04-10. MoonEx's machines are designed to look for materials that are scarce on Earth but found in everything from a Toyota Prius car battery to guidance systems on cruise missiles. ... The company is among several teams hoping to someday win the Google Lunar X Prize competition, a $30-million race to the Moon in which a privately-funded team must successfully place a robot on the Moon's surface and have it explore at least 1/3 of a mile. It also must transmit high definition video and images back to Earth before 2016. ... should be ready to land on the lunar surface by 2013.
  2. ^ Brown 2011.
  3. ^ a b
  4. ^ Chow 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Moon Express Announces First Successful Flight Test of Lunar Lander System Developed With NASA Partnership". Moon Express. Retrieved August 16, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b Caulfield, Brian. "Naveen Jain: 'Think Of The Moon As Just Another Continent'". Forbes. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  7. ^ Knafo, Saki (July 22, 2011). "The New Space Biz: Companies Seek Cash In The Cosmos". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "Moving the heaven to get some rare earth". The Hindu. Chennai, India. June 2, 2011. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  9. ^ "NASA - NASA Awards Contracts for Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data".
  10. ^ Hennigan, W.J. (2011-04-08). "MoonEx aims to scour Moon for rare materials". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
  11. ^ Sutherland, Paul. "Moon Express to fly lunar telescope". Sen.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  12. ^ Lindsey, Clark (2012-12-20). "MoonEx Acquires RCSP of Dynetics". NewSpace Watch. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  13. ^ Kohlenberg, Brad (2013-09-05). "Moon Express Announces Dr. Paul Spudis as Chief Scientist and Dr. Jack Burns as Science Advisory Board Chair". Google Lunar XPRIZE Blog. Archived from the original on 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  14. ^ Mohon, Lee (15 May 2015). "NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center's Mighty Eagle Successfully Concludes Test Series".
  15. ^ Messier, Doug (2013-12-05). "Moon Express Unveils 'MX-1' Commercial Lunar Lander". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  16. ^ "RELEASE 14-126 NASA Selects Partners for U.S. Commercial Lander Capabilities". NASA.GOV website. NASA. April 30, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  17. ^ Herridge, Linda (3 March 2015). "Moon Express Completes Initial Flight Tests at NASA's Kennedy".
  18. ^ Dean, James (22 January 2015). "Private moon firm to sign deal for test flights at Cape".
  19. ^ Foust, Jeff (12 July 2016). "Moon Express takes over Cape Canaveral Delta 2 launch site". Spacenews.
  20. Wall Street Journal
    . Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  21. ^ "Florida Company Gets Approval to Put Robotic Lander on Moon". The New York Times. 4 August 2016.
  22. ^ Erin Mahoney (31 October 2017). "NASA Extends Agreements to Advance Commercial Lunar Landers". NASA.GOV. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  23. ^ "Towers at disused Florida launch pad to be toppled Thursday – Spaceflight Now". spaceflightnow.com. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  24. ^ "Layoffs and stalled projects plagued space start-up Moon Express. Then NASA stepped in".
  25. ^ U.S.-BASED MOON EXPRESS ANNOUNCES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MOON EXPRESS CANADA AND CANADIAN SPACE SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE EXPLORATION OF THE MOON Archived 2018-12-16 at the Wayback Machine. Moon Express press release on 16 October 2018.
  26. ^ "NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services". NASA. 29 November 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  27. ^ Cape Canaveral's Moon Express among companies selected for NASA lunar program. Emilee Speck, Click Orlando. 29 November 2018.
  28. ^ "Intelius' Naveen Jain Turns to Moon Mining, Philanthropy". IndiaWest.com. May 9, 2011. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  29. ^ "Moon Express signs historic launch agreement for private missions to the Moon". Moon Express – Press release. SpaceRef. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-05.[permanent dead link]
  30. ^ "Moon Express Launch Contract to be Verified by Google Lunar XPRIZE". SpaceRef. 4 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  31. ^ Foust, Jeff (1 October 2018). "Moon Express raises $12.5 million". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  32. ^ a b c "Moon Express unveils its roadmap for giant leaps to the lunar surface … and back again". GeekWire. 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  33. ^ Mann, Adam (2013-07-18). "The Private Plan to Put a Telescope on the Moon". Wired. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  34. ^ 'MoonLIGHT' Shines Bright: Moon Express' $24 Million New Science Customer Archived 2018-06-27 at the Wayback Machine. Nick Azer. May 21, 2015.
  35. ^ a b Speaker Interview: Dr. Alain Berinstain, Vice President of Global Development, Moon Express Archived 2018-12-20 at the Wayback Machine. Space Tech Expo. March 2018.
  36. ^ Ex-Prize: Google's $30 Million Moon Race Ends with No Winner. Mike Wall, Space. 23 January 2018.
  37. ^ a b "Moon Express Technology". Google Lunar X-Prize. November 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-03-27.
  38. ^
    ISBN 9780521762243
  39. ^ a b c d e "MX-1 Scout Class Explorer". Moon Express. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  40. ^ Moon Express Unveils Lunar Mission Architecture Archived 2018-03-16 at the Wayback Machine. Press Release - Source: Moon Express. July 12, 2017.
  41. ^ a b Grush, Loren (12 July 2017). "To mine the Moon, private company Moon Express plans to build a fleet of robotic landers". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  42. ^ Moon Express. "We hydrogen peroxide as oxidizer in our bi-prop PECO main engine, & as a monopropellant for our landing & "hopping" thrusters". Twitter.com. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  43. ^ Moon Express unveils its roadmap for giant leaps to the lunar surface … and back again. Alan Boyle, GeekWire. July 12, 2017.

Further reading

External links

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