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PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - Astrobotic Technology, Inc. is a space robotics company that seeks to make space accessible to the world. The company’s line of lunar landers and rovers deliver payloads to the Moon for companies, governments, universities, non-profits, and individuals. (www.astrobotic.com)
The company, located on the North side of Pittsburgh, was chosen by NASA to deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover to the south pole of the Moon in 2023. NASA awarded Astrobiotic a $199.5 million contract under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
The mission: drill for water.
"If we can find water at the poles of the moon - that could be a game changer," said John Thornton, CEO of Astrobiotic Technology, during an interview with the KDKA Radio Morning Show on Friday.
Water can split in to Hydrogen and Oxygen, which creates rocket fuel. Therefore, the moon could become a refueling destination for going back and forth, or going deeper and deeper in to space.
That is not all it is for, either.
"We're building an affordable delivery service to go to the surface of the moon for routine, regular access. So missions like this hopefully will happen on a very routine basis," Thornton explains.
He started this project 13 years ago.
You can listen to the full conversation with Thornton below to learn more.
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