[NSS]Astrobotic Technology Signs SpaceX Contract for Lunar XPrize Mission

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Astrobotic Technology Signs SpaceX Contract for Lunar XPrize Mission

Astrobotic Technology, Inc., a spinoff from Carnegie Mellon University, announced the signing of a contract with SpaceX to launch its Lunar XPrize mission using a Falcon 9 rocket.
Astrobotic intends to launch as early as December 2013.  The mission includes a rover designed to operate for three months,  and commercial payloads on the lander priced at $700,000 per pound, plus a fee of $250,000-per-payload to cover the cost of integration, communications, power, thermal control and pointing services.

Currently, Astrobotic Technology has a contract with NASA to design a lunar mining robot that can extract frozen volatiles (water, methane) at polar locations. These can be used to create propellants for spacecraft returning to Earth.


Falcon 9 / Lunar Mission (click to enlarge)
Image Credit:
Astrobotic Technology


Source: Astrobotic Technology Signs SpaceX Contract for Lunar XPrize Mission