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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Moon Express To Establish Moon Base From Cape Canaveral, Florida, Operations Center

08/04/2016
Moon Express, Inc., also known as MoonEx, received permission from U.S. officials to travel beyond Earth's orbit and land on the Moon in 2017. The company is based at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

According to company officials, “MoonEx is a privately funded commercial space company blazing a trail to the Moon to unlock its mysteries and resources with low cost robotic spacecraft products and services using exponential technologies. This breakthrough U.S. policy decision provides authorization to Moon Express for a maiden flight of its robotic spacecraft onto the Moon's surface, beginning a new era of ongoing commercial lunar exploration and discovery, unlocking the immense potential of the Moon's valuable resources.”

"The sky is not the limit for Moon Express — it is the launchpad. This breakthrough ruling is another giant leap for humanity. Space travel is our only path forward to ensure our survival and create a limitless future for our children," remarks co-founder and chairman, Naveen Jain. "In the immediate future, we envision bringing precious resources, metals, and Moon rocks back to Earth. In 15 years, the Moon will be an important part of Earth's economy, and potentially our second home. "

"The Moon Express 2017 mission approval is a landmark decision by the U.S government and a pathfinder for private sector commercial missions beyond the Earth's orbit," remarks Co-founder/CEO, Bob Richards. "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."

“Up until now all commercial companies have been limited to operations in Earth's orbit, and only governments have sent missions to other worlds,” company officials said. “The federal interagency approval of the Moon Express 2017 lunar mission establishes an important precedent for the private sector to engage in peaceful space exploration, bringing with it monumental implications for the advancement of technology, science, research, and development, as well as commercial ventures that expand Earth's economic sphere.

“Driven by long-term goals of exploring and developing lunar resources for the benefit of humanity, the company has short-term business on-ramps of providing lunar transportation and services for government and commercial customers,” company officials said.

The company is already working with NASA and private companies interested in spaceflight. NASA partnered with Moon Express in 2014 under its Lunar CATALYST program to help build the capability to return the United States to the surface of the Moon.

In October 2015, Moon Express announced a launch contract with Rocket Lab USA for 3 launches to the Moon beginning in 2017. In 2016, Moon Express announced an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to utilize Cape Canaveral Launch Complexes 17 and 18 for the development of its spacecraft.

Moon Express was co-founded in 2010 by space visionary, Dr. Bob Richards, billionaire entrepreneur, Naveen Jain, and serial entrepreneur and artificial intelligence and space technology guru, Dr. Barney Pell, with the common vision to be at the forefront of commercial space exploration and innovation.

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