Future Space
In this episode of Yahoo Finance NEXT, Yahoo Finance anchor Akiko Fujita travels to the headquarters of Astrobotic Technology in Pittsburgh, Penn., for a glimpse at the future and what it will take to colonize the moon. Astrobotic is on a mission to make history. More than five decades after the Apollo missions landed the first Americans on the moon, the Pittsburgh-based company is attempting to become the first commercial firm to successfully land an aircraft on the surface of the moon. That journey would mark the first step in a larger vision to develop the lunar surface’s infrastructure, in an effort to establish a more permanent human presence there. Astrobotic’s advancements point to a rapidly growing private space industry that is pushing space exploration to new heights. While government agencies like NASA have traditionally spearheaded space missions, the emergence of new upstarts have led to a surge in public-private partnerships focused on scientific research, driving a $470 billion industry. Astrobotic’s immediate focus is on delivering cargo to the moon. CEO John Thornton and his team are placing their first bet on the Peregrine lunar lander, a small-class spacecraft developed inside its 47,000-square-foot facility. Equipped with its electronics, propulsion, and communications systems, the Peregrine will be loaded aboard United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket, scheduled for launch later this year. NEXT is a groundbreaking series that will offer a glimpse into some of the biggest companies Yahoo Finance covers every day, what they’re planning for the future, and what it means for your investing portfolio. For more on our NEXT Series, click here, and tune in to Yahoo Finance every Monday at 10 a.m. ET. To watch the debut episode of NEXT: Samsung vs Apple: An inside look at the smartphone wars, click here.
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