The Moon will be mined in 2020?

If everything goes well and according to Moon Express's roadmap, the company will begin mining the Moon from 2020.

Specifically, this Florida-based company will conduct a comprehensive exploration of the lunar surface, a job that has so far only been done by national space agencies, not a private company like Moon Express.

If the effort is successful, they will receive an immediate $20 million prize from Google. In addition, the company's reputation will be enhanced and they will receive more investment in their future lunar mining work.

“I really hope we can do this. The company will move forward with the project as soon as possible, not because of the business benefits, but because we want to conquer it,” said Bob Richards, CEO of Moon Express.

The Google Lunar XPrize is a competition designed to encourage entrepreneurs and engineers to target lunar exploration technologies and develop them vigorously as a new private industry.

Simulation of the Moon Express probe rolling across the lunar surface.

The winner of the competition will win a $20 million prize, with the requirement to land a probe on the Moon that can travel 500 meters and take pictures of the surface by the end of this year.

Moon Express is one of the companies that is ambitious to conquer this. This year they will conduct exploration and take pictures of the lunar surface to get the prize from Google and further develop other services on the Moon.

“We have a lot to do in a very short time, and so does Rocket Lab,” Richards added, referring to a New Zealand-based US company that also plans to send a probe to the Moon from a two-stage launcher.

In addition, there are 3 other companies competing directly with each other, including Synergy Moon, Team Indus and Hakuto. Notably, Hakuto from Japan announced an investment of 500,000 USD to develop an aircraft capable of self-navigation when flying on the Moon.

Moon Express is a promising contender. The company has raised $45 million from investors and will also take the SpaceX approach, reusing as much as possible to keep costs down.

Their lunar lander, the MX-1E, is currently in development, with its engine built and ready for testing. The lander is expected to be able to carry a 30 kilogram payload to the Moon.

Regardless of whether Moon Express makes it to the XPrize, the more distant future is set for a real lunar expedition, one that will explore and collect lunar soil and rocks and send them back to Earth on its first mission.

Moon Express is one of the companies that has ambitions to conquer the Moon.

There are currently no agreements in place between governments and private companies to exploit extraterrestrial resources. But with national space agencies receiving less congressional support, private companies are filling the void in space exploration.

Moon rocks collected by Apollo astronauts are now considered national treasures in the United States, and NASA will never sell them to private collectors. Many of the stolen rocks are valued at $50,800 per gram.

Because of the high value of samples collected from space, the possibility of a private organization mining materials from the Moon would spark controversy and a series of requests for mining rights from countless other economically powerful companies.

Anyway, let's wait until 2020 to see how Moon Express and other private companies and government organizations will react to this new trend of the times.

According to Khoahoc.tv