![\"Astrolab](\"https:\/\/cdn.satnow.com\/news\/Astrolab_rover_cover_638362340471240901.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Venturi Astrolab announced it has reached an agreement with eight enterprise customers to use its Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover to deploy the customers\u2019 payloads on Astrolab\u2019s upcoming mission to the Moon which is known as Mission 1. <\/p>\n
Five customers are releasing details of their payloads: Argo Space, Astroport, Avalon Space, Interstellar Lab, and LifeShip. Three more customers are contracted with Astrolab but intend to release details of their payloads at a future date, closer to launch. Collectively, these eight contracts are valued at more than $160 million.<\/p>\n
As part of Mission 1, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will transport Astrolab\u2019s Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover to the lunar surface. SpaceX will use the Starship launch and landing system for this mission as soon as mid-2026. Following landing on the Moon, FLEX will deploy payloads for each of the customers. SpaceX and Astrolab expect Mission 1 to be completed as soon as mid-2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur entire Astrolab team is excited to welcome these businesses to Mission 1,\u201d said Jaret Matthews, CEO and Founder, Astrolab<\/strong>. \u201cTogether, they represent a cross-section of the emerging lunar economy. As we get closer to our launch date, we expect to make additional customer announcements.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews added that given FLEX\u2019s total payload capacity of 1,500 KG, Astrolab can substantially lower the cost of deploying payloads on the lunar surface while providing unparalleled maneuverability, range, power, and communications capabilities. The company estimates its prices are approximately ten times more affordable than those of competitors.<\/p>\n The Astrolab customers announced include:<\/p>\n Argo Space Corp. (Argo)<\/strong> of Hermosa Beach, California intends to use FLEX to deploy a demonstration payload that will advance the development of Argo’s unique, scalable technology designed to harvest low-concentration water from Lunar regolith. Argo\u2019s novel processing approach will economically extract water outside of permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). This mission is a major step in the company\u2019s efforts to use water from regolith for commercial applications to make in-space transportation abundant and build a Lunar economy. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to work with Astrolab on this and future missions to catalyze a commercial Lunar economy and a sustained presence on the Moon,\u201d said Robert Carlisle, CEO, Argo Space<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Astroport Space Technologies<\/strong> of San Antonio, Texas builds infrastructure for the Moon and intends to melt regolith to make bricks for roads, launch and landing pads, and shelters. To understand the properties of the regolith in the lunar environment, the payload will demonstrate a proof of concept for a proprietary sieving and grain separation technology that mitigates electrostatic forces inherent in the regolith. This technology will isolate the regolith grains that are ideal for manufacturing lunar bricks. FLEX\u2019s robotic arm will collect regolith for the sieving and grain separation experiment.<\/p>\n Separately, the Astroport payload also includes a limited number of personalized lunar simulant basalt bricks sold exclusively for placement on the lunar surface to mark the start of the first road on the Moon. \u201cOur ideal customer for our personalized brick program is someone from an Artemis Accords signatory country who places an order for a brick to be made from the basalt soil of their respective country,\u201d said Sam Ximenes, CEO, Astroport<\/strong>. FLEX will use its robotic arm to install these bricks to begin the construction of this initial lunar road.<\/p>\n Avalon Space<\/strong> of Toronto will use FLEX to conduct a series of science, exploration and sustainable development experiments focused on the emerging lunar economy, leveraging a suite of both onboard and deployed elements on the lunar surface. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone doubts that there will likely be a pre-Starship and post-Starship point in human history,\u201d said Dr. Nadeem Ghafoor, CEO of Avalon Space<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to be working with Astrolab and our international and commercial partners on this first mission to help unlock the potential of this new era of beyond-Earth orbit development. The next decade is going to change everything, and we\u2019re looking forward to doing our part to help it be as peaceful, collaborative, impactful and economically significant as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Interstellar Lab<\/strong> of Ivry-sur-Seine, France and Kennedy Space Center, Florida plans to use FLEX to deploy the two small plant pods on the lunar surface. Once deployed, Interstellar Lab will measure the impact of the lunar environment on the plant\u2019s phenotype and molecular composition. <\/p>\n “We are very excited to team up with Astrolab for our mission LITTLE PRINCE,\u201d said Barbara Belvisi, founder and CEO, of Interstellar Lab<\/strong>. \u201cAs Antoine Saint Exup\u00e9ry wrote: ‘If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a bloom with flowers. \u201cThis is the first of many Interstellar Lab missions,\u201d Belvisi added. \u201cWe look forward to helping our terrestrial customers access Space and grow a garden on the Moon.\u201d<\/p>\n LifeShip<\/strong>, of San Diego, California intends to use FLEX to deliver a capsule containing a DNA seed bank and data archive to the lunar surface. LifeShip is saving the essence of Earth across space and time, with products for people to include themselves in the story. \u201cThis is an exciting mission! With LifeShip, anyone can be part of humanity’s eternal legacy amongst the stars. People can add their DNA, photos, and stories at the LifeShip website,\u201d said Ben Haldeman, CEO, of LifeShip<\/strong>. LifeShip is establishing a seed bank of Earth’s biodiversity on the lunar surface. \u201cHumans have built seed banks here on Earth for thousands of years. This will be an off-world backup of our biosphere,\u201d Haldeman added.<\/p>\n Upon completion of Mission 1, Astrolab\u2019s FLEX will become the largest and most capable rover to ever travel to the Moon. With a maximum combined rover and cargo mass of more than two tons, the FLEX rover is nearly three times the mass of its largest predecessor. FLEX is also equipped with a highly dexterous robotic arm that can be used to deploy customer payloads, manipulate instruments, and collect samples. This increased capacity and versatility provide significantly more opportunities to conduct scientific experiments and commercial endeavors on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n Click here to learn more about Astrolab’s Flexible Logistics and Exploration Rover (FLEX).<\/strong><\/p>\n