CompanyUnited StatesDormant

Moon Express, Inc.

U.S. company founded in 2010 to land robotic spacecraft on the Moon and pursue lunar resources. In its August 2016 announcement, Moon Express described its proposed MX-1E mission's U.S. government approval as the first for a private mission beyond Earth orbit; NASA selected it for the CLPS vendor pool in 2018. The reviewed records document no spacecraft launch and no dated company activity after February 2020.

Claimed

Resources and evidence

Each resource shows the highest step primary sources support. How the ladder works.

Resource	Evidence	Meaning
Metals (general)	Claimed	says it will
Regolith	Claimed	says it will

Demonstrated

Lander test flights on Earth were reported (2011-2015 era); no spacecraft has been launched and no lunar resource has been measured, sampled or processed.

Claimed or planned

Co-founder Naveen Jain (2016): 'In the immediate future, we envision bringing precious resources, metals, and Moon rocks back to Earth.' The current website describes a planned private sample-return architecture (MX-9) and a roadmap ending in 'commercial resource extraction and processing demonstration', with no dates.

Facts

Headquarters: United States
Type: Company
Founded: 2010
Status: Dormantas of 2026-09-10. No launches, contracts or dated announcements found after the company's 9 Feb 2020 statement that it had no upcoming Rocket Lab launch and was focused on CLPS; NASA has awarded it no CLPS task order. Its website is still maintained (script bundle Last-Modified 2026-09-10) and names a COO, so no shutdown is recorded. 'Dormant' is an inference from absence of activity.
Roles: Lander / transport, Prospecting
Targets: Moon
Also known as: MoonEx; Moon Express
Website: www.moonexpress.com

Missions

1 records

Mission	Role	Launch	Phase	Outcome
Moon Express MX-1E first lunar mission (Google Lunar XPRIZE attempt)Spacecraft	Operator	Not recorded	Stalled	Not applicable

Government authorizations held

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

Amounts are shown one at a time as each source states them. They are never added together.

2018-11-29
Moon Express selected for NASA CLPS vendor pool
Government awardMoon Express, Inc.With National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA named Moon Express one of nine companies eligible to bid on Commercial Lunar Payload Services task orders.
Sources (1) and evidence gaps
1. [1]NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services
  NASAGovernment recordPublished 2018-11-29Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: event type, date
  Nine U.S. companies now are eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
- Absence of any Moon Express task order is inferred from the NASA OIG list of task orders (IG-24-013), not from an explicit statement.
2015-09-30
Moon Express-Rocket Lab launch contract for three Electron launches
ContractMoon Express, Inc.With Moon Express MX-1E first lunar mission (Google Lunar XPRIZE attempt), Rocket Lab
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
1. [1]Moon Express signs historic launch agreement for private missions to the Moon
  Moon Express, Inc. (via PR Newswire)Company statementPublished 2015-10-01Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: date, counterparty id
  The company today announced it signed a contract with Rocket Lab on Sept. 30 to launch
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
- Contract value not disclosed in the release.

Open evidence gaps

No 2021-2026 dated primary evidence of operations, staff, funding or contracts; no shutdown or dissolution record found either (state corporate registry not checked).
The 9 Feb 2020 @MoonEx posts were read only as quoted on Wikipedia; the original posts were not retrieved.
The website quote is in the site's JavaScript bundle (index-Bppq9F7E.js, Last-Modified 2026-09-10), not in the served HTML, so a text fetch of the URL cannot confirm it.
Cumulative funding not established from primary sources (aggregators cite about USD 61.8 million; not used).

Record history

changes to this record's facts, newest first

Changed	Field	Was	Now	Reason	Source
2020-02-09	status	Active	Dormant	Source update	[4]

Sources

5 sources

[1]US Government Approves Plan For Moon Express To Become First Private Company To Venture Beyond Earth's Orbit
Moon Express, Inc. (via PR Newswire)Company statementPublished 2016-08-03Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: resources, resource activity claimed
In the immediate future, we envision bringing precious resources, metals, and Moon rocks back to Earth.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[2]Moon Express signs historic launch agreement for private missions to the Moon
Moon Express, Inc. (via PR Newswire)Company statementPublished 2015-10-01Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: founded year
Moon Express was founded in August 2010 by Dr. Robert (Bob) Richards , Naveen Jain and Dr. Barney Pell
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[3]NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services
NASAGovernment recordPublished 2018-11-29Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: headquarters country, role
Moon Express: Cape Canaveral, Florida
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[4]Moon Express (quoting @MoonEx posts of 9 February 2020)
WikipediaDirectoryAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: status, status basis
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
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[5]Moon Express - Expanding Earth's Economic Sphere to the Moon (JavaScript-rendered site)
Moon Express, Inc.Company statementAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: status, website
Moon Express is one of nine U.S. companies selected by NASA to deliver payloads to the lunar surface.
Quote not machine-matched.