There's No Place Like Moon

A Florida-based company has been permitted to conduct the first ever private mission to the moon, an important step towards colonising the space.

17:23 09 August 2016

In an unprecedented turn of events, a Florida-based company has been permitted by the US government to conduct the first ever private mission to the moon. Moon Express aims to send the MX-1 to the natural satellite by late 2017.

 

The company’s co-founder, Dr Bob Richards said: “We are now free to set sail as explorers to Earth’s eighth continent, the Moon, seeking new knowledge and resources to expand Earth’s economic sphere for the benefit of all humanity,”

 

According to the Moon Express Team and space experts, exploring the moon is our plan B as we have to eventually leave our home planet.  

 

David Rothery, professor of planetary geosciences at the Open University, warned:

“We just need one natural disaster to bring the house of cards down. A major natural disaster – be it a volcanic eruption or a large meteorite hitting Earth – will make existence on the planet almost impossible."

 

Dr Malcolm Macdonald, director of the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications at the University of Strathclyde, agrees. He said that sooner or later, the Earth’s resources might deplete and we may need to consider extracting materials from the moon to manufacture goods in the Earth’s orbits.