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Lunar Mission One was a proposed international,
crowdfunded
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
, robotic mission to the Moon, led by Lunar Missions Limited in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. They did not obtain $1 billion funding for research, development and launch of a spacecraft, meant to be launched in 2024.
in 2024. The lander would drill below the surface of the Lunar South Pole to a depth of up to 100m, in the hope of accessing
lunar rock
Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth as ...
up to 4.5 billion years old. The lunar lander would contain scientific instruments to explore the science and
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
behind the origins of the Moon and the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
.
After drilling, the module would place a
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...
into the borehole. This time capsule would contain a public archive, with a record of Earth's biosphere and a history of
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
, and a private archive consisting of millions of
digital memory
Semiconductor memory is a digital electronic semiconductor device used for digital data storage, such as computer memory. It typically refers to devices in which data is stored within metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) memory cells on a sili ...
boxes. Consumers would be able to purchase digital memory boxes, and fill them with digital data such as photos or videos. They would also be able to store their
DNA via a strand of hair. Lunar Missions Limited has set the total cost of the mission at £500 million and it is aiming to raise these funds through global sales of digital memory boxes.
Funding for the initial legal fees
was raised on the international crowd-funding platform,
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
. The fundraising was successfully completed on 17 December 2014, with £672,447 ($1,017,000 approx.) being pledged, exceeding the minimum target of £600,000 ($900,000 approx.).
Management
Lunar Missions Limited is a company chaired by
Ian Taylor, former
UK Minister for Science and Technology. Directors of the company include David Iron and Angela Lamont. The technical advisor for the first stage of the project is
RAL Space.
Lunar Mission One is overseen by the Lunar Missions Trust which is also responsible for the education program to be developed around Lunar Mission One, primarily focusing on STEM subjects. The Trust is chaired by
Sir Graeme Davies and trustees include
Monica Grady
Monica Mary Grady, CBE (born 15 July 1958 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK), is a leading British space scientist, primarily known for her work on meteorites. She is currently Professor of Planetary and Space Science at the Open University and is al ...
and David Iron.
The Lunar Mission One program closed down due to
VAT tax issues.
References
External links
*
{{Moon spacecraft
Kickstarter-funded spacecraft
Proposed space probes
Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom
Missions to the Moon