Moon Express is banking on a launch from startup Rocket Lab, which is developing a small rocket called Electron. Whether it wins the XPrize or not, Moon Express is building a business to provide lunar transportation and services, such as research and mineral extraction, Chief Executive Bob Richards said in an interview. As for Synergy Moon, they are counting on one of their partners, Mojave, Calif.-based Interorbital Systems, for their launch aboard a new rocket known as Neptune.
“We’re thrilled to have five contenders that are working from all over the world on this one mission,” XPrize Senior Director Chanda Gonzales-Mowrer said in an email.
