Max Q: A Thanksgiving Special

Hello and welcome back to Max Q! For my American readers, I hope you had a restful Thanksgiving with loved ones.

In this issue:

  • Venturi Astrolab’s first moon rover mission
  • News from OneWeb India and more

It turns out a NASA contract isn’t the only way to fund a mission on the moon.

Lunar technology startup Venturi Astrolab announced last week that its first moon rover mission will bring in over $160 million in customer contracts.

The contract value is spread across eight customers, including:

  • Argo Space Corporation, which will deploy a demonstration payload;
  • Astroport Space Technologies, which will demonstrate sieving and grain separation technology;
  • Avalon Space, which will “conduct a series of science, exploration, and sustainable development experiments focused on the emerging lunar economy”;
  • Interstellar Lab, which will deploy two small plant pods on the lunar surface;
  • LifeShip, Inc., which will deliver a capsule containing a DNA seed bank and archive of Earth’s biodiversity to the lunar surface

Image Credits: Venturi Astrolab (opens in a new window)

More news from TC and beyond

  • Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket will apparently take to the skies “around this time next year” carrying a payload bound for Mars.
  • OneWeb India, the local subsidiary of low-earth orbit operator Eutelsat OneWeb, has received the necessary approval from the country’s newly created space regulatory body.
  • SpaceX’s second Starship test flight left significantly less debris around the surrounding area than the first mission.
  • Ursa Major is going to 3D print solid rocket motors, a new business line for the company best-known for its rocket engines.

Max Q is brought to you by me, Aria Alamalhodaei. If you enjoy reading Max Q, consider forwarding it to a friend. 

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