And perhaps the primary goal of the project is to make clear to the rest of the world that the moon is not just a …
And perhaps the primary goal of the project is to make clear to the rest of the world that the moon is not just a place for exploration and research — it’s a place of business. NASA may be the only organization that’s currently in the market for buying moon rocks from private companies, but the space agency allowed the companies to name their price. Lunar Outpost pledged to sell their sample for just $1, by far the smallest bid. Both iSpace companies plan to sell their samples for $5,000. And Masten will sell its collection for $15,000. It’s not yet clear if any of the companies will succeed in their efforts. NASA says it will only pay 10% of the total purchase price upfront. And yes, NASA plans to mail Lunar Outpost’s a check for 10¢, according to Phil McAlister, NASA’s director of commercial spaceflight development. The companies will receive another 10% after their rovers launch into space, and the final 80% will be paid out after the companies prove to NASA that their rovers have actually collected lunar soil samples of between 50 and 500 grams, or up to about a pound when weighed on Earth. The trek to the moon is not easy. The companies will need to buy a ride on a rocket that can carry their rovers all the way to the moon, and they’ll need a lunar lander which can ferry the rovers down to the lunar surface. But if the rovers can get there, the companies will not be required to bring the soil samples they collect back to Earth. McAlister said it’s also unclear if NASA plans to bring them home at all because that’s not the point of the program. «We think it’s very important to establish the precedent that private-sector entities can extract these resources and NASA can purchase» them, NASA executive Mike Gold told reporters Thursday. The economic incentive for the four companies signed up for NASA’s new lunar resource program is not exactly clear, but all of the companies are already well underway developing various lunar exploration technologies.
