MoonEx has permission to land on Moon in 2017

Moon Express, Inc. (MoonEx), a private enterprise, has been granted permission from the U.S. Government to travel beyond Earth’s orbit and land on the Moon in 2017. Up until now, only governments have sent missions to other worlds. MoonEx will participate in peaceful space exploration while advancing technology, science, research, and development, including commercial ventures.

MoonEx is an American privately held company that—aside from the goal of winning the Google Lunar XPrize—plans on mining the Moon for natural resources.

Co-founder and CEO, Bob Richards said:

“The recent discovery of water on the Moon is an economic game changer for humanity’s future. Water is the oil of the solar system, and the moon has become a gas station in the sky.”