Israeli Firm Could Launch First Privately Funded Mission to the Moon

There are certain requirements to meet the pre-requisites; the team must successfully land their robotic craft on the lunar surface and travel at least 1,650 feet relaying high-definition videos and photographs to Earth.

The announcement by SpaceIL has made it the first of the 16 Lunar X Prize teams to book a ride off the planet. Rocket Lab is a privately funded company, with major investors including Khosla Ventures, K1W1, Bessemer Venture Partners and Lockheed Martin.

The Lunar XPRIZE is a contest started by Google back in 2007 with the aim of proving that the private sector can innovate and create spacecraft capable of landing and operating on the moon without government funding.

SpaceIL, an Israel-based team with almost 20 full-time employees and a few 250 volunteers, is developing a spacecraft it hopes will cover the required 500 meters not by roving across the surface, but by hopping.

SpaceIL has raised about $40 million to date, with about 80 percent of that coming from two organizations: the Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Family Foundation; and the Kahn Foundation. The 2016 milestone requires that entrants secure their launch agreement, and the flight must be completed by the end of 2017.

The runner up will receive $5 million, with incentive bonuses that could reach another $5 million achievable for things such as surviving a lunar night, which is equal to 14 days on Earth and visiting a landing site of Apollo. After the SpaceIL craft lands on the moon and takes a few pics, it will then use its remaining fuel to take off again and hop another 500 meters away.

Privman said a few elements of the spacecraft design had to wait until the selection of the launch vehicle, since the interface of the spacecraft to the rocket is a design factor.

At a press conference in Jerusalem, the non-profit organization said it had signed up with Spaceflight Industries, which recently bought a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to facilitate the ridesharing launches of small satellites. Once the capsule separates from the launcher, it will release the spacecraft.

Once the capsule detaches, a navigation system will guide it toward a safe landing. Engineers in a mission control room will send commands and corrections remotely as needed.

SpaceX is a private company owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk.

In 2012, Falcon delivered Dragon into the correct orbit to rendezvous with the worldwide Space Station, according to SpaceX. It is working toward that goal under an agreement with NASA. Moon Express is a recognized leader in the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE competition.