Carnegie Mellon University spinout and Google Lunar Xprize competitor Astrobotic raises $2.5m as it plans to take personal mementos to the moon to claim Google's award.
Astrobotic Technology, an aerospace spinout from Carnegie Mellon University, has raised $2.5m in a seed round, according to TechCrunch.
The round was led by Space Angels Network. Other investors in the round have not been disclosed.
Astrobotic was founded in 2007 to compete in the Google Lunar Xprize, an initiative by conglomerate Alphabet that offers $30m in prizes to the team that is able to land a privately funded rover on the moon, travel 500 metres and transmit high-definition video and images.
Astrobotic is not only trying to reach the moon itself, but is also offering other companies to hitch a ride. However, as of yet, Astrobotic does not have a verified launch contract.
In 2014, the company was selected as one of three companies to work with Nasa to advance its lunar landing capabilities. Later that same year, as a way to raise money for its launch, Astrobotic launched an interplanetary mail service where people could pay to send mementos to the moon.
To date Astrobotic is the only team competing in the Google Lunar Xprize to win three out of three milestone prizes, totalling $1.75m.
John Thornton, chief executive of Astrobotic Technology, said: “Our first missions to the moon will become historic landing sites that will remain untouched for future settlers to visit. The hardware from later missions will likely be re-purposed or recycled for future lunar settlements.
“For example, fuel tanks can be used to store fluids, solar panels can be reused, and metals can be ground up into powder for 3D printing new parts.”
