It has been nearly 47 years since man first landed on the moon and in about 10 years that very moon could soon become a travel destination for holidaymakers. Moon Express is looking to specialize in lunar travel and thanks to a ruling made by the US government, they are now the very first private firm to be given the green light to land on Earth's lone satellite.
The go-signal was given by the Federal Aviation Administration back in August, and the company is already planning on making its very first trip by next year. Their main goal is to send holidaymakers to the moon by the year 2026.
According to Naveen Jain, co-founder and chairman of Moon Express, tickets for the trip will cost around $10,000 (£8000) per person. The chairman believes space travel to be the only viable path moving forward to ensure the survival of the human race and "create a limitless future for our children." He also added that the company is looking towards the possibility of bringing back precious metals and other resources from the moon back to Earth.
Chief executive and co-founder Bob Richards describes the Moon Express 2017 approval by the US government as a landmark decision and one that can provide private sectors with opportunities that will go beyond our planet's orbit. According to The Guardian, Moon Express stands to win the $25 million Google Lunar X prize if their mission is successful. The prize is guaranteed to the first private firm that can successfully land on the moon, travel a distance of at least 500 meters and transmit high resolution images back to Earth.
In a report published by The Courier on their website, the company is open to the possibility of working together with Elon Musk's Space X program. It is estimated that the resources found on the moon are worth as much as $500 quadrillion, which is enough money to create around 500 million billionaires on Earth.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
