British Company Announces Crowdfunded Lunar Lander Mission

摘要

Hoping to leverage what it believes to be increased public enthusiasm for science and space exploration, a British company announced plans Nov. 19 to raise nearly $1 million through crowd-funding to start work on a private lunar lander mission that will ultimately cost about $1 billion. Lunar Missions Ltd. is seeking to raise 600,000 British pounds ($940,000) over the next month via the crowdfunding website Kickstarter to support studies of Lunar Mission One, a lunar lander mission planned for 2024 with both science and public outreach goals. The campaign raised more than 75,000 British pounds in its first 12 hours. As currently proposed, the one-ton Lunar Mission One spacecraft will land on the rim of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the largest impact crater in the solar system. The spacecraft's drill will collect rock samples from a depth of at least 20 meters, and potentially up to 100 meters, for analysis.