Bob Richards is incredibly well-established in space circles. He’s founder of the International Space University, Singularity University, and the Space Generation Foundation. He’s also delivered TEDx talks on creating a multi-planet civilisation.
Across his long and varied career, Richards has also set up and led a number of successful space enterprises. The most recent of these is Moon Express, of which he is also CEO.
Moon Express aims to unlock the “mysteries and resources” of the moon with “low-cost robotic spacecraft products & services using exponential technologies.” In 2016, it became the first private company ever given Government permission to travel through deep space and land on the moon. Moon Express has received technical support for the development of lunar landers from NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency.
As set out in a Verge video, Moon Express wants to set up a robotic lunar outpost on the Moon’s South Pole. There, the company wants to not only excavate lunar rocks, but also extract lunar ice and turn it into rocket fuel.
“The importance of water on the moon is that water and its constituents, hydrogen and oxygen, are rocket fuel. So the moon become a gas station in the sky,” he said in the interview.
Similarly, via a popular Twitter account, Richards stresses that the peaceful use of the vast resources on the Moon “will help us improve conditions here on Earth and evolve into a more mature multi-world species.”
Richards holds a Masters in Engineering Physics and Space Science from Cornell University, and a degree in Industrial Engineering from Ryerson University.
Tags: Moon Express, Space, space exploration
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