Moon Express Raises $20 Million In Series B-1, Fully Funds Trip To The Moon (techcrunch.com) 63
The company competing in the Google Lunar X-Prize, Moon Express, has raised $20 million in funding and announced that they have now fully financed their mission to the moon. The company made history last year as it became the first private company to receive permission to travel to the moon. Moon Express plans to launch their MX-1E spacecraft to the moon at the end of 2017 with the goal of winning the $20 million grand prize in the X-Prize competition. TechCrunch reports: If successful, Moon Express would become the first private company and the fourth entity in history to soft-land on the moon. The first three entities were all government-funded superpowers from the U.S., USSR and China. Of course to win that title, Moon Express will need to beat the other X-Prize competitors including SpaceIL from Israel, Team Indus from India (carrying the Japanese team HAKUTO as a payload), and the international team Synergy Moon. Each company has had launch contracts confirmed by X-Prize, a requirement to remain in the competition. The first company to soft-land on the Moon, travel 500 meters across its surface, and transmit high-definition video and images back to Earth will win the grand prize of $20 million. There's also $5 million up for grabs for the company that comes in second. Perhaps the most challenging of the X-Prize requirements is the deadline. To win the prizes, competitors must complete all tasks by the end of 2017. Although the X-Prize Foundation has pushed the deadline back before. What makes the Google Lunar X-Prize competition especially unique is that it required participants to obtain 90% of their funding from private sources. In theory, this would encourage profit-driven business plans, kick-starting a wave of lunar-based commercialization.
So Minecraft is worth billions... (Score:1, Insightful)
...but landing on the moon gets you only 20 million? Fuck off, Google.
Re: So Minecraft is worth billions... (Score:1)
Microsoft bought Minecraft, the 2nd most popular video game of all time. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft
It will earn them a profit while this X prize earns Google zero (besides a little publicity)
Re: (Score:2)
Well if it works they will earn sponsors for future endeavors. So they will earn something, everyone will want to go to the Moon -- and beyond =)
Re: (Score:1)
Imagine that, a game played by tens of millions of people is worth more than the emotional nostalgia for a half century old stunt.
Re: (Score:1)
How would you like $700,000,000,000,000,000,000.00? ($700 quintillion)
That's how much in raw material is said to be in the asteroid belt. After we mine that, then there are over 100 moons in the outer planets, and after that, there's the Oort cloud. It has twenty thousand times the mass of the asteroid belt (mass of 5 earths). One day, humanity could have 1000 times its current population and generation ships travelling to other stars - but not if we first don't get off this rock.
Re: (Score:2)
And it will only cost $800 Quintillion to actually do the mining and processing! Score! BTW, how much energy will it take? If it takes more energy than is available then once again nothing is gained.
Re: (Score:2)
The spot price of minerals for use in orbit is $10k/lb+the item, so clearly there is a market. Unless, like a moron you really think that the minerals are of any use on the Earth.
Personally, I think all these Space Nutter posts (like yours) are adorable. You act like things that are clearly possible are out of our reach for all of eternity, and claim those trying to do it are delusional. I just see you spitting cheetos all over your keyboard while you type that, because clearly it isn't possible to ever
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
We are "off this rock". We have rovers on Mars. Orbiters of Saturn and Jupiter. Probes in interstellar space. Space observatories photographing the beginnings of our universe. How much more "off this rock" can we be?
Oh, you mean spending far more to loft a human or two to Mars? Yeah, that makes sense... lol.
you missed the fun part! (Score:3, Informative)
Moon Express has contracted five rockets from launch provider Rocket Lab USA. A newcomer to the launch industry, Rocket Lab USA has yet to fly their experimental Electron rocket – the same rocket that is contracted to take Moon Express’ MX-1E to the moon. It’s first launch is set for later this month
If those rockets don't work, they can always build a bridge to the moon out stacks of money. -_-
Re: (Score:2)
Space program
With loud report
Light, and get away.
In the future... (Score:3, Funny)
Permission? (Score:5, Interesting)
From whom does one ask permission to go to the moon? And who authorises that authority to grant it? And what would be the punishment if one went to the moon without permission?
Re: (Score:2)
It's hard enough to find affordable LOX dewars. Seems like little ones cost about as much as big SUV-sized tanks. Everyone has LN2 dewars for sale, but you don't put LOX in a LN2 dewar as a general rule unless you're absolutely positive it has no organics (and preferably no silicone) in it, or certain metals. Otherwise it can get a bit... "explodey". The simpler, all-stainless LN2 dewars usually don't have lids, which with LOX would be just plain stupid. You can find used LOX converters online for very
Re: (Score:2)
I've got plenty in my Evil Genius lair.
Re:Permission? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
From whom does one ask permission to go to the moon? And who authorises that authority to grant it? And what would be the punishment if one went to the moon without permission?
If you can drag the whole launch platform into international waters, nobody I think. It's not the going to the moon that's regulated, it's launching to get there. The outer space treaty says that nobody lays claim to own the moon, so there's no such thing as trespass. I'd think most other things would follow the "flag rules", if you're on a US ship in international waters US laws apply aboard the ship. What would happen if you went there, declared the treaty invalid and your independence as a free nation is
Re: (Score:1)
What are they gonna do, send the space cops after me?
Re: (Score:2)
Yep, if you are willing to live the rest of your life on an airless desolate rock, you are good.
Re:ridiculous (Score:4, Insightful)
Ridiculous or not, can't fly my toy copter without (Score:2)
Ridiculous or not, I can't legally fly my $100 toy quadcopter in my backyard without FAA permission, which they grant if you register it.
I have no idea what President Trump (no relation to candidate Trump) will do in regards over-regulation, but he's very different from all the professional politicians in a lot of ways, so it'll be interesting to find out.
Re: (Score:2)
Is registering your name so we know who to blame if you fly your toy into something important causing expensive damage actually over-regulation?
For little plastic toys you can catch in your, yes (Score:3)
These are little plastic toys you can catch in your hand, so yes, I think it's a bit silly. I'm having trouble imagining how it could "cause expensive damage" - a baseball is more dangerous, denser and flies four times as fast. Should there be a law requiring all baseballs to be registered?
There's an obvious way to change a couple characters in thev regulation to make it much more sensible. Currently, toys weighing 255 grams or more have to be registered. 255 grams includes some designed to be flown indoor
Ps they recently clarified paper airplanes (Score:2)
Ps: The FAA did recently issue some guidance clearing up the requirements for paper airplanes and birthday balloons. For a time, the wording of the proposed regulation would have required you to register a paper airplane before tossing it.
Re: (Score:2)
Space Nuttery really exists, and it should be in the DSM-VI. Or they could make a special House episode about it.
Seriously? Do you think mankind was meant to stay on just this planet when there are so many more 'nearby' to visit and populate? You really think Earth will remain sustainable forever? There's already natural forces at work that would disabuse you of that notion.
You call going to space insanity, when there's other logic that NOT going to space is insanity. But then again I bet you have forgotten all the things you benefit from thanks to people putting satellites into space, and the innovations you enjoy th
Re: (Score:2)
Space Nuttery really exists, and it should be in the DSM-VI. Or they could make a special House episode about it.
Seriously? Do you think mankind was meant to stay on just this planet when there are so many more 'nearby' to visit and populate? You really think Earth will remain sustainable forever? ...
Seriously? You think that any accessible planet is more habitable than the Earth is? Has more water? More oxygen? A more temperate climate? Earth after a massive asteroid strike would STILL be more habitable than Mars, Venus, or one of the outer planet moons. Welcome to reality.
Re: (Score:2)
Reality is Kryptonite to Space Nutters. Have you noticed the almost religious tone in that post?
What Generation of hopeless pessimist do you belong to? What was your childhood like that you have no vision of grandeur of the future?
Re: (Score:2)
Have you ever noticed the irony that armchair scientists think there's no water or ice on any of the other celestial bodies, yet every time a comet or other natural space detrius is mentioned the composition is almost always spoken of as being made up of ice and rock?
No the conditions may not be hospitable in their natural form, that's not to say living habitats cannot be carved or created.
Re: (Score:2)
Try *thinking* about exactly what people landing on another world would be up against. Just because someone has detected ice on Mars doesn't mean the first explorers are going to wander into the underground city of the ancient Martians. I'd love to see humans on other worlds. But I'm also in touch with reality.
OK but (Score:3)
On Slashdot a few days ago there was a story about a hardware company that imploded after raising $35 million, trying to build some little drones.
I'm no rocket scientist but I feel like getting to the moon might be a little more challenging?
*Permission* to travel to the moon? (Score:1)
Moon walk.. (Score:1)
What are "government-funded superpowers"? (Score:2)
The first three entities were all government-funded superpowers from the U.S., USSR and China.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? How about "..were the superpowers, the US, USSR and China" or "government agencies of the superpowers; the US, USSR and China."? How about a simple "...were funded by the superpowers; ..."?