WE ARE BLAZING A TRAIL TO THE MOON TO UNLOCK
ITS MYSTERIES AND RESOURCES FOR THE BENEFIT
OF LIFE ON EARTH AND OUR FUTURE IN SPACE.
WHY WE ARE GOING BACK
EIGHTH CONTINENT We believe it's critical for humanity to become a multi-world species and that our sister world, the Moon, is an eighth continent holding vast resources than can help us enrich and secure our future. The Moon is unique in that its surface has remained relatively constant over billions of years.
RESOURCES Most of the elements that are rare on Earth are believed to have originated from space, and are largely on the surface of the Moon. Reaching for the Moon in a new paradigm of commercial economic endeavor is key to unlocking knowledge and resources that will help propel us into our future as a space faring species.
Pt -78
Platinum Group Metals
Mining
Rare Earth Elements
HE -3
Helium-3
RARE
Moon Rocks
WHY NOW Moon Express will send a series of robotic spacecraft to the Moon for ongoing exploration and commercial development. The opportunity is simply driven by advances in technology. What used to require the unlimited budgets of a superpower, are now within reach of private enterprise.
MULTI-MISSON LANDER
SCALABLE, STACKING PLATFORM
ADVANCED ROBOTICS
P
L
A
T
F
O
R
M
we are going back often, and spending orders of magnitude less to do it.
payload
toroidal tanks
pressurant tanks
solar panel
Thank you
We will never misuse or re-sell your information
Get Involved
We are working together wITH AUTODESK ON AN OPEN FORUM FOR NEW IDEAS
COMPANY
Through human history the greatest terrestrial discoveries been made by brave pioneers. These were individuals with bold ideas who, with the backing of a monarch or state, had the vision and the daring to forge a new path into uncharted waters... Today, the advance of technology has made exploration of the Moon accessible to just these sorts of entrepreneurs. Moon Express Inc. is a privately funded commercial space company created to develop the resources of the Moon for the benefit of life on Earth and humanity's future in space.
The company was founded by Dr. Bob Richards, Naveen Jain, and Dr. Barney Pell in August 2010 and was quickly selected by NASA for its $30M Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data (ILDD) program. Moon Express entered and became a recognized leader in the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE competition in October of that same year. Headquartered at the NASA Ames Research Park in Mountain View, CA, Moon Express is forging a new paradigm, combining best practices of traditional aerospace know how with the innovation and entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley. Selected by Forbes as one of the 'Names You Should Know' in 2011, Moon Express is developing innovative, flexible and scalable new robotic spacecraft that will radically reduce the cost of space exploration and unlock the mysteries and resources of the Moon. Our first technology demonstrator mission planned for 2015 will be the first in an ongoing series of lunar missions focused on science, exploration and commerce.
Multi Mission
Advanced Robotics
FOUNDERS
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM
Daven Maharaj
Vice President,
Operations
Michael Tanne
Vice President,
Strategic Development
Mike D'Angelo
Vice President,
Technology & Programs
SENIOR TECHNICAL TEAM
Dr. Paul Spudis
Chief
Scientist
Dr. Michael Sims
VP, Software and
Chief Robotics Officer
Adrian Adamson
Principal Engineer,
Avionics
Jim Kaidy
Principal Engineer,
GNC
Jim Cantrell
Vice President,
Flight Systems
Naveen Jain is a philanthropist, entrepreneur and a technology pioneer driven to solve the world’s biggest challenges. He is a Trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation, serveing as Co-Chairman of Education and Global Development. Naveen is also Trustee of Singularity University and a founder of World Innovation Institute, iNome and Infospace. A fervent advocate of innovation and entrepreneurship, Naveen is a member of Pacific Council on International Policy and the Explorers Club.
Naveen Jain
Co-founder & Chairman
Dr. Robert (Bob) Richards is a space entrepreneur and futurist. He is a Co-Founder of the International Space University, Singularity University, SEDS, the Space Generation Foundation and Google Lunar X PRIZE competitors Odyssey Moon Ltd. and Moon Express, Inc.. Bob participated in the 2007 NASA Mars Lander mission and 2004 XSS-11 mission of the US Air Force. He is a member of the International Institute of Space Law and co-chairs the Exploration Committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
Bob Richards
Co-founder & CEO
Dr. Barney Pell, Ph.D. is Executive Chairman of Quickpay and served as CEO and Co-Founder of Powerset, Inc. which was acquired by Microsoft in 2008. Barney is an Associate Founder and Trustee of Singularity University and is an active parallel entrepreneur, angel investor, and technology and product strategist. Barney led the Advanced IT R&D group at the NASA Ames Research Center for many years and participated in a number of space missions including Deep Space One and the Mars Exploration Rovers.
Barney Pell
Co-founder & Vice Chairman
Moon Express Unveils Breakthrough “MX-1” Commercial Lunar Lander
Daven Maharaj media@moonexpress.com
Las Vegas, NV (December 5, 2013) – Moon Express, Inc., a privately funded lunar resources company, unveiled its “MX-1” lunar lander spacecraft today as a breakthrough robotic space vehicle capable of a multitude of applications including delivering scientific and commercial payloads to the Moon at a fraction of the cost of conventional approaches. The spacecraft design is being unveiled today at the closing session of Autodesk University in Las Vegas in front of an audience of over 10,000 attendees.
The MX-1 synthesizes proprietary robotic technologies, advanced micro-avionics, and a unique toroidal structure to produce a “green” robotic spacecraft that is powered by sunlight and uses hydrogen peroxide as rocket fuel. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an oxygen enriched water compound commonly found in nature and biological systems. With the recent discovery of water on the Moon, the MX-1 has a potential source of rocket fuel on the lunar surface, a scenario that would be a game changer in the economics of lunar resources and solar system exploration.
“The spacecraft rockets use a high test version of the consumer level hydrogen peroxide widely available in drug stores”, said Tim Pickens, Chief Propulsion Engineer at Moon Express and former propulsion lead for SpaceShipOne. “We’re developing three new rocket engines at our Propulsion Development and Test Facilities in Huntsville and benefiting greatly from new advances in digital 3D design and fabrication tools.”
The main MX-1 rocket engine is a dual mode bi-propellant system that also uses kerosene as an after burner to give the spacecraft the punch to break out of Earth orbit, accelerate to faster than a bullet, travel a million miles to beyond the Moon, and come back to break to zero velocity using its outboard thrusters as it touches the lunar surface. The spacecraft is designed to ride to Earth orbit on low cost secondary payload opportunities aboard commercial launchers like the SpaceX Falcon 9 that are radically reducing the cost of access to space.
About the size of a large coffee table, the MX-1 is a completely self-contained single stage spacecraft that can reach the surface of the Moon from a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) commonly used to place communications satellites above the Earth. It is also designed to be a flexible spacecraft platform that can support a number of applications including serving as a flexible, agile upper stage for existing launch systems enabling Earth orbit cubesat deployment, satellite servicing, and “space tug” applications such as cleaning up space debris.
“The MX-1 is not just a lunar lander, it is a spacecraft workhorse with many markets” said Moon Express Co-founder & CEO Bob Richards. “The MX-1 is the ‘iPhone of space’; a platform capable of supporting many apps including our core plan of exploring the Moon for resources of benefit to humanity.”
Moon Express is introducing the MX-1 as the first of a series of robotic space vehicles based on a scalable patent pending design to operate in Earth orbit and deep space destinations. Moon Express will utilize the MX-1 in its maiden technology demonstrator flight in 2015, delivering a number of commercial and government payloads to the Moon and pursuing the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE.
Moon Express engineers have combined the latest exponential technologies in micro-avionics with advanced propulsion and materials to create an innovative approach to spacecraft design and fabrication, empowered by leading edge Autodesk digital design tools to help make the impossible possible and reach for the Moon.
more news...
The Moon Express “MX-1” Lunar Lander Spacecraft Will Use Hydrogen Peroxide as Rocket Fuel
to Propel Scientific and Commercial Payloads from Earth Orbit to the Moon.
For more information about Autodesk, visit: www.autodesk.com
Thank you
We will never misuse or re-sell your information
Get Involved
1
2
3
4
5
6
<
>
NASA IS BOTH OUR CUSTOMER AND OUR PARTNER IN ESTABLISHING
A NEW PARADIGM OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE EXPLORATION OF THE MOON.