News Archive / Tagged: Moon Express

• NASA selects experiments to fly aboard commercial lunar landers

  Derek RichardsonFebruary 26th, 2019

  With commercial lunar landers starting to fly, the next step will be for payloads, public and private, to be sent aboard them to the Moon’s surface.

• NASA Administrator reveals new commercial plan to explore the Moon

  Jason RhianNovember 29th, 2018

  NASA is working with commercial partners in an effort to produce a lunar transport "market," one designed to further enable scientific exploration of the Moon.

• Video: Falling Heritage – SLC-17 demolished to pave way for the future

  Jason RhianJuly 13th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The two towers at Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 17 were demolished via controlled explosions at 7 a.m. EDT (11:00 GMT) on Thursday July 12, 2018. When the towers fell, 61 years of launch history came to a close. The site will now be used by Moon Express to test its lunar lander.

• Gallery: Canaveral’s SLC-17 demolished

  Jason RhianJuly 12th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  — The launch structures at Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 17 (pads A and B) were demolished on Thursday, July 12 2018. SpaceFlight Insider's Mike Howard captured this historic event in photos.

• Canaveral’s Delta II launch site demolished, paving the way for Moon Express

  Jason RhianJuly 12th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A piece of the Cape's launch history came to an end on Thursday, July 12, with the demolition of Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 17. The site where NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers began their epic voyage to the Red Planet have been reduced to rubble - paving the way for use by Moon Express.

• Lunar XPRIZE competition continuing without cash reward

  Collin SkocikMay 10th, 2018

  The Lunar XPRIZE, a competition among various teams to land a robot on the Moon, is proceeding even though Google is no longer sponsoring the project. As of April 5, 2018, it is operating as a non-cash competition.

• International Lunar Observatory to offer a new astrophysical perspective

  Tomasz NowakowskiAugust 12th, 2017

  Scheduled to be sent to the south pole of the Moon sometime in 2019, the International Lunar Observatory is expected to conduct the first astrophysical observations from the lunar surface. The mission managers hope that it will offer a brand new astrophysical perspective for scientists worldwide.

• Moon Express announces trio of expeditions to the Moon

  Curt GodwinJuly 14th, 2017

  On July 12, 2017, NewSpace company Moon Express announced plans for a trio of missions to the Moon, the first of which is tentatively scheduled for late in 2017 – potentially making them the first commercial company to reach Earth's natural satellite.

• Team Indus joins Google Lunar X-Prize finalists, Astrobotic drops out

  Collin SkocikDecember 23rd, 2016

  One of the prerequisites of staying in the Google Lunar XPRIZE (GLXP) is securing a contract with a launch service provider. India-based Team Indus has successfully done that by contracting with the manufacturer of the country’s PSLV rocket. At the same time, Astrobotic, the first team to secure a contract back in 2011, announced that it is dropping out of the competition after losing its window with SpaceX's Falcon 9.

• Moon Express regulatory approval prompts questions about space law

  Tomasz NowakowskiAugust 9th, 2016

  Pioneering space endeavors often run far ahead of the international laws and regulations that serve as legal frameworks to guide humanity's exploration of space. Two recent cases have brought the question of who has the right to travel to, and in some cases, exploit space-based resources.

• Moon Express gains regulatory approval for Moon shot

  Derek RichardsonAugust 3rd, 2016

  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Moon Express’ MX-1E spacecraft for a commercial landing on the Moon – the first time any private company has gained regulatory approval to send payload beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO).

• Moon Express on recent expansion: ‘We’re committed to the Space Coast’

  Jason RhianJuly 13th, 2016

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Moon Express Inc., one of the competitors under the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE, announced on Tuesday, July 12, that it had entered into an agreement with the U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing to license the historic Space Launch Complexes 17 and 18 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

• Moon Express launch contract verified for XPRIZE competition

  Joe LatrellDecember 16th, 2015

  Moon Express has become the second competitor to have their launch contract officially verified by the Google Lunar XPRIZE, a $30 million dollar competition. The primary goal of the contest is to land a privately funded unmanned spacecraft onto the surface of the Moon before Dec. 31, 2017.

• Moon Express’ Richards talks commercialization of Space Coast

  Jason RhianSeptember 14th, 2015

  Moon Express’ Bob Richards is interested in commercial space efforts. He noted more firms with an interest in the privatization, such as Blue Origin, are emerging, and eyeing Florida's Space Coast as a place to set up shop. The space entrepreneur spoke to Spaceflight Insider about the changing dynamic at the Cape.

• MoonLIGHT lunar laser ranging array to continue work of Apollo

  Rae Botsford EndMay 16th, 2015

  Moon Express announced on Friday a new agreement with The National Laboratories of Frascati (LNF), which is part of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), and with the University of Maryland (UM), which will bring a new set of lunar laser ranging arrays to the Moon over a series of missions. The arrays will be […]