{"id":19296,"date":"2016-08-03T22:35:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T14:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/moon-express-wins-a-green-light-from-u-s-government-for-its-lunar-mission\/"},"modified":"2016-08-03T22:35:03","modified_gmt":"2016-08-03T14:35:03","slug":"moon-express-wins-a-green-light-from-u-s-government-for-its-lunar-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/moon-express-wins-a-green-light-from-u-s-government-for-its-lunar-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Moon Express wins a green light from U.S. government for its lunar mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_265262\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-265262\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-265262 size-full-width\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/151207-moon-express-2-630x451.jpg\" alt=\"Moon Express MX-1 lander\" width=\"630\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/151207-moon-express-2-630x451.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/151207-moon-express-2-768x550.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/151207-moon-express-2.jpg 1031w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-265262\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows the Moon Express MX-1 lander in lunar orbit. (Credit: Moon Express)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>BELLEVUE, Wash.<\/strong> \u2013 Moon Express says it has received preliminary clearance for the robotic lander that it plans to send to the moon next&nbsp;year, after a voluntary payload review involving the Federal Aviation Administration and other federal agencies.<\/p>\n<p>The clearance doesn\u2019t represent final regulatory approval for the mission, although some reports may be giving&nbsp;that impression. The FAA will still have to grant a launch license before Moon Express can blast off.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_265142\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-265142\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-265142\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142-630x421.jpg\" alt=\"Naveen Jain\" width=\"350\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142-630x421.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142-1240x828.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/20160729_BlueDot_142.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-265142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naveen Jain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nevertheless, Moon Express\u2019 executives hailed the successful payload review as a significant step toward&nbsp;what could be the first commercial mission to another celestial body.&nbsp;Moon Express CEO Bob Richards called it a \u201clandmark decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are now free to set sail as explorers to Earth\u2019s eighth continent, the moon, seeking new knowledge and resources to expand Earth\u2019s economic sphere for the benefit of all humanity,\u201d Richards said in a statement issued today.<\/p>\n<p>Seattle-area tech entrepreneur Naveen Jain, the company\u2019s co-founder and chairman, was equally effusive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sky is not the limit for Moon Express&nbsp;\u2013 it is the launch pad,\u201d he said. \u201cThis breakthrough ruling is another giant leap for humanity. Space travel is our only path forward to ensure our survival and create a limitless future for our children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Moon Shot | Episode 6 | Cape Canaveral: Moon Express\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fuz4K__Rri4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Jain said the effort also pays tribute to America\u2019s entrepreneurial spirit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLanding on the moon, even getting permission to leave Earth orbit, just shows that a dedicated group of entrepreneurs can achieve anything that they can imagine,\u201d he told GeekWire during an interview in his Bellevue office. \u201cTo me, this is a story about entrepreneurs taking a real moonshot. In this case it happens to be a literal moonshot&nbsp;\u2013 but really, it\u2019s taking a symbolic moonshot, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said other entrepreneurs may be inspired to take different kinds of moonshots \u2013&nbsp;for example, curing cancer or pioneering clean energy.<\/p>\n<p>Jain\u2019s moonshot began in 2010, when Moon Express was founded to go after a piece of the Google Lunar X Prize. That competition offers a $20 million grand prize to the first private-sector team that can land a probe on the moon, have it travel at least 500 meters, and send back high-definition video and images from the lunar surface.<\/p>\n<p>To win the prize, the feat has to be accomplished by the end of 2017. Sixteen teams are in the race, but so far, only Moon Express and Israel\u2019s SpaceIL have secured&nbsp;verified launch contracts.<\/p>\n<p>Moon Express\u2019 MX-1E micro-lander is set to be launched by Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rocket from either New Zealand or the United States sometime next year. Rocket Lab says its New Zealand launch&nbsp;site&nbsp;is nearly ready to go, and it expects to conduct its first test launch by the end of this year.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_192610\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-192610\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-192610\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/peter-620x414.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Beck and Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle\" width=\"620\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/peter-620x414.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/peter.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-192610\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck aims to have the company\u2019s Electron rocket blasting off from a New Zealand launch site by the end of the year. (Credit: Rocket Lab)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The flight plan calls for the Electron rocket to send the MX-1E into a looping orbit that brings it to the moon over the course of several weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Jain&nbsp;emphasized that winning the $20 million prize isn\u2019t Moon Express\u2019 only objective. He and other company executives see the mission as the opening&nbsp;gambit in what could be the development of FedEx-style transport services to the moon and back. The company already has raised more than $30 million from investors including Autodesk and the Founders Fund.<\/p>\n<p>In order to keep moving ahead, Moon Express was looking for&nbsp;assurances that its first lunar mission wouldn\u2019t get tangled up in red tape. It\u2019s a complicated issue, because Congress has never defined the scope of regulations for commercial activities in deep space.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why Moon Express&nbsp;asked the FAA and other agencies for the&nbsp;enhanced payload review in April. Such reviews are typically done to ensure that the payload complies with federal and international requirements, including the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"icon-quotes-left\"><\/span>&nbsp;The favorable payload determination will be incorporated in our review of the license application.<span class=\"icon-quotes-right\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>For months, Moon Express\u2019 application was reviewed not only by the FAA, but also by NASA, the State Department and other relevant agencies. The company said it received formal approval from the FAA on July 20,&nbsp;the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.<\/p>\n<p>The payload review gave Moon Express the assurances it was looking for, but that\u2019s not the final word. Moon Express and Rocket Lab still have to complete the FAA\u2019s&nbsp;license application process for next year\u2019s launch \u2013&nbsp;which means the moonshot is still&nbsp;a bit up in the air, so to speak.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a launch operator applies to the FAA for a license to launch a vehicle carrying the MX-1E payload, the favorable payload determination will be incorporated in our review of the license application,\u201d the FAA said in a fact sheet about last month\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p>White House officials have said they\u2019d like to see a more formal process for approving commercial missions beyond Earth orbit, but that\u2019s up to Congress. The&nbsp;FAA said&nbsp;the type of review that Moon Express went through was a one-off, and would not set a precedent for other missions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny future requests for a payload determination from Moon Express Inc. or another entity will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,\u201d the FAA said.<\/p>\n<p>At least one future request is already looming: SpaceX has said it plans to launch a privately funded, robotic mission to Mars as soon as 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows the Moon Express MX-1 lander in lunar orbit. (Credit: Moon Express) BELLEVUE, Wash. \u2013 Moon Express says it has received preliminary clearance for the robotic lander that it plans to send to the moon next&nbsp;year, after a voluntary payload review involving the Federal Aviation Administration and other federal agencies. The clearance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[291,318,2670,625,2910,5529],"class_list":["post-19296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-faa","tag-google-lunar-x-prize","tag-moon","tag-moon-express","tag-regulations"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19296"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19296\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}