Here's something that put a smile on my face:
A British-led team is set to launch an unmanned mission to the Moon in ten years' time, using crowd funding to get the project off the ground, literally!
The idea is to send a robotic probe to the Moon's South pole, which will then drill at least 20m below the surface (and up to 100m) to collect and analyse rock samples dating back 4.5 billion years. This will help scientists understand more about the composition of the Moon and its relationship with Earth.
Beyond the scientific merits, the mission hopes to inspire children all over the world to learn about space, science and engineering, just as high-profile missions like Apollo 11 did for previous generations.
Lunar Mission One hopes to raise an initial target of £600,000 ($950,000, €770,000) on Kickstarter between now and 17th December 2014. If successful, they will then spend the next few years planning the mission, raising further funds, designing and testing the spacecraft, before the planned launch in 2024.
Backers past a certain threshold will have the chance to reserve their "place in space": their own spot in a digital time capsule on the spacecraft to include text, photos or even videos of their choosing.
At the time of writing, the mission has raised well over £100,000 from more than 1000 backers on the first day of funding! After the recent Rosetta mission to comet 67P, Lunar Mission One is clearly benefiting from the current worldwide fascination with space travel, and their Kickstarter looks set to succeed long before the deadline. More money is being pledged every minute, and it's such a joy to see so many people investing in this endeavour!
To me, this is extremely promising for the future of space exploration. With governments no longer willing to spend much money on such things, this mission is the ideal way for people to show that this kind of research really matters, and brings in benefits far more valuable than commercial gain.
You can find out more about the mission at http://www.lunarmissionone.com/.
A British-led team is set to launch an unmanned mission to the Moon in ten years' time, using crowd funding to get the project off the ground, literally!
The idea is to send a robotic probe to the Moon's South pole, which will then drill at least 20m below the surface (and up to 100m) to collect and analyse rock samples dating back 4.5 billion years. This will help scientists understand more about the composition of the Moon and its relationship with Earth.
Beyond the scientific merits, the mission hopes to inspire children all over the world to learn about space, science and engineering, just as high-profile missions like Apollo 11 did for previous generations.
Lunar Mission One hopes to raise an initial target of £600,000 ($950,000, €770,000) on Kickstarter between now and 17th December 2014. If successful, they will then spend the next few years planning the mission, raising further funds, designing and testing the spacecraft, before the planned launch in 2024.
Backers past a certain threshold will have the chance to reserve their "place in space": their own spot in a digital time capsule on the spacecraft to include text, photos or even videos of their choosing.
At the time of writing, the mission has raised well over £100,000 from more than 1000 backers on the first day of funding! After the recent Rosetta mission to comet 67P, Lunar Mission One is clearly benefiting from the current worldwide fascination with space travel, and their Kickstarter looks set to succeed long before the deadline. More money is being pledged every minute, and it's such a joy to see so many people investing in this endeavour!
To me, this is extremely promising for the future of space exploration. With governments no longer willing to spend much money on such things, this mission is the ideal way for people to show that this kind of research really matters, and brings in benefits far more valuable than commercial gain.
You can find out more about the mission at http://www.lunarmissionone.com/.
