$101,000,000 private mission to moon to pave way for humanity's return to lunar surface launching next month
One private mission could be taking important steps towards putting humans back on the Moon, and it all begins with a $101,000,000 spacecraft the size of a simple shed.
Despite being one of NASA's crowning achievements, it has now been over half a century since humans last set foot on the Moon with the Apollo 17 mission.
Reports have revealed that the delays aren't anything to do with scientific or technological limitations, and are instead frustratingly held up by budget restrictions and regulatory hurdles.
However, news of a private spacecraft launch has given many space-enthusiasts hope that we could see astronauts return to the lunar surface in the near future, and it's all thanks to a tiny spacecraft.
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US space start-up Firefly Aerospace have embarked upon their 'Ghost Riders in the Sky' mission where they're sending the Blue Ghost lunar lander to the surface of the moon in a $101,000,000.
As reported by Sky, the company has paid a fixed price that they consider to be a low cost of entry in an attempt to create a pathway for further space exploration.
Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim has explained: "It is the gateway to other planets, like Mars. And so enabling the frequency of very affordable and high science-value missions is what private industry is doing with this first Blue Ghost mission."
The spacecraft in question is no bigger than a standard shed, and will hold 10 different scientific instruments that will study the surface of the Moon - particularly in the Sea of Crisis area.
Part of the 14-day mission will be to collect and study lunar dust, but it'll also be tasked with capturing high-definition footage of the lunar sunset, which is analogous with the Apollo 17 where Eugene Cernan sketched the awe-inspiring event during his walk on the Moon.
While Blue Ghost won't have any passengers in this particular mission, it does definitely begin to open the door for astronauts to return to the surface with further investment in the private industry.
It has been made clear that Elon Musk and SpaceX's goal is to reach and eventually colonize Mars, but if NASA's inability to return humans to the lunar surface is mostly a budget issue then many consider the private route to be the next best step.
Only time will tell how successful these projects are though, and it'll likely still be a while before conversations start up again - especially as we doubt many astronauts would be willing to hop in a spacecraft this size!