Kickstart Into Outer Space

The scientists behind the kickstarter are hoping to use brand new technology to drill at least 20 meters, but perhaps as much as 100 meters, down into the moon, which is 10x more than has ever been drilled before.

Lunar Mission One is an ambitious project that is attempting to drill down into the moon. What will hopefully be the first crowdfunded lunar landing, the kickstart has 20 days left, but has already raised £374,054 out of £600,000.

The goal is to land an unmanned robot on the South Pole of the Moon, a region that has never been explored before. Then, the scientists behind the kickstarter are hoping to use brand new technology to drill at least 20 meters, but perhaps as much as 100 meters, down into the moon, which is 10x more than has ever been drilled before. The initial hope is to discover rock that will date back 4.5 billion years ago, when scientists believe the Moon and Earth first split. Lunar Mission One hopes to discover the “ancient relationship it shares with our planet and the effects of asteroid bombardment. Ultimately, the project will improve scientific understanding of the early solar system, the formation of our planet and the Moon, and the conditions that initiated life on Earth”.

They also have proposed to use a time capsule, that will consist of millions of individual “memory boxes”.

But this is only the beginning of the project. They are hopefully projecting to land on the moon in ten years from now, 2024. They also have proposed to use a time capsule, that will consist of millions of individual “memory boxes”, which are reserved for those who support the Kickstarter now. The virtual box will be buried in the mood during the drill mission, and will have the legacy of a 21st Century time capsule. Also in time capsule will be a public archive, that will contain a record of Earth, it’s species, and humankind. What will hopefully be preserved for generations as a research and educational tool, this alone is a massive undertaking.

Should this all go well, a Lunar Mission Two might occur, to collect more samples, and even an discussion is the idea of a radio telescope on the Moon which could conduct low frequency astronomy from the Moon, something that is not possible from Earth. The total price is likely to be somewhere around $5 billion, however, they believe that they can raise a good percentage of the rest of the money by selling space in the private archive of the time capsule. Those that currently donate £60 are given their own reserved space in the private archive.