A British-led consortium has announced plans to land a robotic probe on the Moon in 10 years’ time and has decided to raise the cost of this space mission from the public.
Its aim is to raise £500 million for the project from donations by the public.
In return, donors would be able to have photos, text and their DNA included in a time capsule which will be buried under the lunar surface.
The public funded mission – Lunar Mission One is expected to shine new light on origins of Earth, Moon and solar system.
As overall technical advisors for the first stage of the project, Lunar Mission One has engaged RAL Space, which has been involved in developing more than 200 space missions and has supported Nasa and European Space Agency missions.
Within 10 years, Lunar Mission One will land on the Moon’s South Pole. Using innovative new technology, the mission’s aim is to drill to a depth of at least 20 metres deep, but potentially as deep as 100 metres, allowing the mission to access and analyse for the first time lunar rock dating back around 4.5 billion years.
Scientists anticipate that this mission will provide new and significantly advanced insights into the origins and evolution of the Moon and Earth.
It will also ascertain the practicality of a permanent manned base at the lunar South Pole.
