Odyssey Moon – An Innovative Model for Commercial Lunar Enterprise
- Paper number
IAC-08.B4.8.10
- Author
Dr. Robert Richards, Odyssey Moon Limited, United States
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Between 1969 and 1972, twelve humans walked on another world. After the most awesome technological and psychological achievement of the human species, they left, never to return. Why? Was it a useless waste of human ingenuity on an Olympian folly? What caused humanity to abandon its first toehold on another world? More importantly, what is the basis to go back? What new forces and motivators are at play today that make the story a different one than the Apollo dead end?
Today there is a rebirth of interest in going back to the Moon among many nations. However while nations plan and strategize how to navigate the political minefields and conflicting national priorities that justify the value of the Moon to the everyday tax payer, there are some new private players not so constrained. They are the privateers; visionaries too, however their driving metric for going to the Moon is sustainable business and commerce. The announcement of the 30 M Google Lunar X PRIZE on September 13 th, 2007 has energized their imaginations and catalyzed a New Race to the Moon. Odyssey Moon is the first official team of the Google Lunar X PRIZE competition. The company made its first public debut on December 6 th at the Space Investment Summit in San Jose, California, unveiling its plans to make history with the first private robotic mission to the surface of the Moon and win the Google Lunar X PRIZE. The inaugural Odyssey Moon mission will involve a unique small robotic lander designed to deliver scientific, exploration and commercial payloads to the surface of the Moon. Of particular consequence to any innovative commercial model is the access to rapid, low cost and frequent launch capacity. Creative approaches to dual manifests, piggy back and hitchhiker payloads will become more popular as demand increases for small space programs serving government, academic, private and commercial organizations. This paper outlines how innovative transportation, together with a carefully planned private Moon mission, could set in motion the technological, political, legal and regulatory precedents that will allow humanity to rationally and peacefully embrace and develop the Moon as the world’ s eighth continent.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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