First Commercial Launch Towards The Moon

(Hat Tip: Space Ports)

It looks like TransOrbital, Inc. may be the first commercial company sending cargo towards the lunar world. They plan on launching a rocket to the moon and after observing the surface for scientific data, they intend to crash the rocket on the surface below, burying the crafts contents underground.

(TransOrbital TrailBlazer Mission) TrailBlazer_TM is the first commercial lunar mission. It is designed to be an inexpensive precursor probe for a variety of commercial lunar missions, both those accomplished by TransOrbital, and those of other companies and space agencies. It is essentially a flying camera platform, carrying high-resolution video cameras, with the goal of returning scientific and artistic video throughout the mission. [...]

The TrailBlazer will not have enough fuel to raise its orbit again, so we will end the mission by commanding it to impact the surface at a pre-selected location. We will choose this site to be far away from any site of historical interest (e.g. Tranquility Base). During the final descent, we will beam back “barnstorming” video of the approaching lunar surface.

This should prove to be interesting, although not quite as useful as getting us on lunar soil. Ironically, I can see people desiring the ashes of their loved ones (along with family heirlooms or historical items) paying to have their contents embedded deep inside moon dirt.

I wonder if NASA would consider a similar craft containing all of Earth’s history and burying it underneath the lunar surface?

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