February 2025, Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover will be our first wheels on the Moon. The MAPP rover will serve as the centerpiece for our first mission, Lunar Voyage 1 (LV1), and has been designed by our team for multiplanetary exploration and prospecting. It will carry cutting-edge payloads and traverse rugged lunar terrain, collecting resources and transporting critical payloads. Using Stargate, our command software suite, operators will control MAPP from our Mission Control Center in Colorado. This mission to the Moon is remarkable for many reasons and serves as a critical steppingstone for myself and our team on our journey to build a sustainable human-presence in space and to establish the New Space economy.
Historic LV1 Accomplishments and Why They Matter:
1. First Rover at the Lunar South Pole Region
Our MAPP rover will be the first-ever rover to reach the South Pole region of the Moon. MAPP will travel 239,000 miles aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and land via Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C Lander near Shackleton Crater. This region is considered one of the coldest places in our solar system and is important from an exploration and resource collection perspective, being a prime location for potential water ice deposits. Lunar Outpost EU, our Luxembourg team, developed an active thermal switch which allows systems to actively control their temperature by regulating the flow of energy from one point to another. This development allows our rovers to survive in cryogenic temperatures which is a prerequisite for lunar night survival at the Moon’s South Pole.
2. First Commercial Rover on Another Planetary Body
Lunar Outpost’s MAPP rover will be the first-ever commercial rover to explore another planetary body. My goal is to lay the groundwork for the New Space economy and deploying the first planetary commercial rover enabled by transporting payloads from private sector partners brings me closer to that goal. MAPP has been designed and built by our team at Lunar Outpost (a private company) and carries payloads from commercial partners including:
- Nokia MAPP has antennas and a Nokia device module, which will enable the first cellular network on another planetary body.
- MIT: MAPP will carry three payloads from MIT, including a camera, the AstroAnt (a miniature autonomous swarm robot that measures temperatures) and HUMANS (a silicon wafer containing a digital record of people’s thoughts on space exploration).
- NASA MAPP will collect lunar regolith, a payload which will be sold to NASA upon collection. This will be the first-ever sale of space resources.
- LunarCrush Nakamoto_1: MAPP enables the first-ever multiplanetary “treasure hunt” by carrying a piece of metal which contains a key. The key unlocks the Nakamoto_1 Treasure Chest, a stash of crypto and NFTs. To retrieve the key, one would travel to the Moon to collect it.
- Stay tuned for a few more exciting partner announcements
3. First Commercial Sale of Space Resources in Human History
As mentioned above, the first sale of space resources will occur during this mission. Lunar Outpost became the first company to receive payment for space resources when I accepted a check from NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, in exchange for the completion of the Concept Review for the sales contract. This contract establishes the legal and procedural framework for all future sales of space resources and sets the precedent for the private-sector to extract resources from other planetary bodies. As it stands, when we collect resources in space, we own them and can sell them which unlocks a wide array of commercial opportunities. For example, Helium-3 is a rare isotope on Earth but is plentiful on the Moon and has many applications including generating fuel for spacecraft propulsion and fuel for nuclear fusion reactors. Lunar regolith can also be processed using electrolysis technology to extract breathable oxygen and precious metals. The extraction of these resources will allow for a sustained human presence in space while improving terrestrial life by providing resources necessary on earth (without having to drill for those resources on our planet) and facilitating the potential enablement of new clean energy sources.
4. First Cellular Network on Another Planetary Body
Nokia’s Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS), which uses the same 4G/LTE technology widely deployed on Earth, will be the first ever cellular network established on another planetary body and our MAPP rover will play a crucial role. As MAPP navigates the lunar landscape during its multi-day expedition, collecting data and imagery, its antennas and Nokia device module will communicate with the devices on the Nova-C lander and Micro-Nova Hopper to transfer the data. This is a historic achievement for the commercial side of New Space economy and my company’s contributions solidify our position as a leader in innovation and IoT-enabled mobility solutions.
5. First American Robotic Rover on the Lunar Surface
From putting the first man on the Moon in human history (Neil Armstrong, 1969) to achieving the first vertical soft landing of a reusable orbital rocket (SpaceX, 2025), the American space industry has a rich heritage of accomplishing historic “firsts.” My team at Lunar Outpost and I intend to build upon those triumphs by putting the first American robotic rover on the Moon. From our heritage in space (MOXIE successfully generating oxygen on Mars), to current missions (MAPP on the Moon in February 2025), and future missions (our LTV for Artemis Astronauts going to the Moon before 2029), we will continue to contribute to the legacy of American engineering excellence in space. NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture, a blueprint to build a sustainable human presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond, creates an exciting path forward for the American New Space economy and for expansive space exploration opportunities. Lunar Outpost is a pivotal leader in the Moon to Mars initiative and the space industry at large by providing unparalleled mobility and robotic solutions that enable large-scale commercial economic activity.
MAPP is launching on February 26th. After MAPP arrives on the Moon, we will carry out our mission operations. I will be expanding upon the details of our mission operations here so check back for updates and insights from LV1.
All of the lessons learned from our explorer class missions (1-4) will notably enhance our LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle or “Space Truck”) which has been designed by the Lunar Dawn team, led by Lunar Outpost, for NASA’s Artemis campaign Astronauts to safely and efficiently traverse the lunar surface. The development and deployment of our LTV is imperative for the establishment of a sustained human on the Moon, from building large-scale infrastructure to providing reliable mobility solutions for both crewed and uncrewed NASA Artemis missions.
Learn More:
Forbes: MIT Will Return To The Moon For The First Time Since Apollo Thanks To This Space Startup
BBC: Talking on the Moon: The quest to establish a lunar mobile phone network
CNN: Streaming and texting on the Moon: Nokia and NASA are taking 4G into space
Axios: Moon exploration company raises $12 million
BusinessWire: Lunar Outpost Announces New Space Collaboration with Castrol on Lunar Mission
https://www.lunaroutpost.com/lunar-voyage-1
