Moon Express MX-1E first lunar mission (Google Lunar XPRIZE attempt)
Planned single-engine robotic lander, contracted in 2015 to launch on Rocket Lab's Electron and covered by a favorable FAA payload review in 2016; it never flew. Its flight plan was a technology demonstration (landing and hop) with no stated resource-measurement objective.
Objective. Land a small commercial lander, hop 500 m and return imagery to meet Google Lunar XPRIZE rules, as the first step of a company plan aimed at lunar resources; no resource instrument was part of the announced flight.
Facts
- Kind
- Spacecraft
- Mission type
- Technology demonstration
- Target
- Moon
- Launch
- Not recorded
- Launch vehicle
- Rocket Lab Electron
- Phase
- StalledLast evidenced phase. No primary source states that MX-1E was cancelled. Moon Express said on 9 Feb 2020 (as quoted on Wikipedia) 'There is no upcoming launch with RocketLab', i.e. the Electron manifest lapsed; Wikipedia states the launch 'has been cancelled' but cites only those posts. No dated activity has been recorded since, so the phase is stalled rather than cancelled.
- Outcome
- Not applicable
- Why it is included
- Named in a government authorization
Outcome statement (operator statement)
There is no upcoming launch with RocketLab. We contracted with RocketLab back in 2015 for a GLXP attempt. We are currently focused on efforts supporting NASA under our Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract
Participants
Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Moon Express, Inc. | Operator |
Government authorizations
| Country | Holder and mission | Instrument | Granted | Linked mission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | FAA-led interagency payload review: Moon Express MX-1E (2016)Holder: Moon Express, Inc. | Favorable payload determination | 2016Granted | Moon Express MX-1E first lunar mission (Google Lunar XPRIZE attempt)Not flown (stalled) |
Dated events
- 2015-09-30
Moon Express-Rocket Lab launch contract for three Electron launches
Moon Express announced it signed a contract with Rocket Lab on 30 Sept 2015 for three Electron launches of its MX-1 lander, with two launches manifested for 2017; none took place.
Company announcement. No counterparty or government record found.
Sources (1) and evidence gaps
The company today announced it signed a contract with Rocket Lab on Sept. 30 to launch
- Contract value not disclosed in the release.
Open evidence gaps
- No primary statement of cancellation or termination of the MX-1E program or the Rocket Lab contract.
- Original @MoonEx posts (9 Feb 2020) not retrieved; quoted via Wikipedia.
- Target site changed over time: GeekWire (2017) reported a landing near the lunar equator with the site not yet chosen; later plans (per Wikipedia/MoonLIGHT, aggregator) named Malapert Mountain. Not resolved from primary sources.
Record history
changes to this record's facts, newest first
Sources
6 sourcesUnder the launch services contract, Rocket Lab will use its Electron rocket system to launch three missions of Moon Express' MX-1 lunar lander spacecraft.
Two launches of MX-1 have been manifested with Rocket Lab for 2017
The company submitted its historic application for a 2017 commercial lunar mission to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
For the XPRIZE mission, the MX-1E would be sent into low Earth orbit aboard an Electron, and then make its way to the moon during a four- to five-day cruise.
In January, the company said that it was targeting a date in late 2017 to send its lander to the moon. But that has been pushed back until 2018.
There is no upcoming launch with RocketLab. We contracted with RocketLab back in 2015 for a GLXP attempt.