Moon Express is an American private space company founded in 2010 with the goal of lunar resources exploration. While initially focused on winning the Google Lunar X Prize, it shifted its focus to supporting NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Moon Express designs scalable robotic spacecraft, including the MX-1, MX-2, and MX-9 series, for lunar transport and resource prospecting. The company has partnered with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to develop lunar landers and explore collaboration opportunities.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
The 13 CLPS contractors are Astrobotic Technology, Blue Origin, Ceres Robotics, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, Lockheed Martin Space, Moon Express, Orbit Beyond, Redwire Space Sensors, Sierra Space, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.
ILOA initially attempted a lunar telescope mission under a Moon Express landing agreement announced in 2013, which did not come to fruition.
In 2013, the International Lunar Observatory Association announced that Moon Express would carry the first privately-funded telescope in space.
Michael Vergalla is a veteran of Moon Express, SpinLaunch, and Airbus A3, and is the founder of Free Flight Research Lab.
At Moon Express, Dr. Alain Berinstain developed and managed corporate agreements with global stakeholders.
Moon Express experienced financial issues, including a lawsuit loss against Intuitive Machines and the cancellation of a lease at Kennedy Space Center for nonpayment.
Moon Express maintained that it paid for its lease at Kennedy Space Center annually in advance since 2014, despite the offices being unused since 2015.
A U.S. District Court in Delaware awarded Intuitive Machines $4,100,000 in cash and Moon Express equity in January 2018 in a dispute over software work and a return vehicle for Moon Express.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the District Court verdict awarding Intuitive Machines $4,100,000 in cash and Moon Express equity.
Moon Express expects to fly its first lunar lander in late 2020 and is considering a precursor orbiter to retire program risk.
Moon Express chief executive Bob Richards contends that Moon Express paid over $3,000,000 to Intuitive Machines and received nothing of value in return and is appealing the jury verdict.
A Delaware jury in January awarded Intuitive Machines $4,100,000 in cash and Moon Express equity following a trial over the companies' dispute.
Moon Express delivered 590,710 shares of stock worth an estimated $2,250,000 to Intuitive Machines LLC as ordered by a federal judge in Delaware on 2018-10-15.
Judge Leonard P. Stark denied Moon Express’ motion for a new trial and its request to halt cash and stock payments in an 2018-10-15 Opinion Memorandum.
Moon Express has raised $12,500,000 to further development of its spacecraft for commercial and government customers.
Moon Express closed a $2,500,000 bridge round led by Miami-based Minerva Capital Group on 2018-10-01.
Moon Express was subject to a $4,100,000 verdict in a legal battle with former partner Intuitive Machines earlier 2018 that is currently frozen pending a ruling by the presiding judge on a motion for a mistrial.
Moon Express is leasing Launch Complex 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from the U.S. Air Force to serve as a spacecraft development and test center.
The $10,000,000 portion of Moon Express’s funding will allow completion of key renovations at LC-17 and enable ordering long-lead flight hardware and building the spacecraft for Moon Express’s maiden flight, which the company plans to sync with customer payload readiness.
Moon Express has raised $10,000,000 of a planned $20,000,000 Series B round led by an undisclosed lead investor.