We have seen mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations, take overs and startups on earth but soon we may see a partnership in outer space forged on earth.
As per a report in the Science World Report, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is likely to partner Moon Express' Naveen Jain for his Mars mission. Musk has a vision to go to Mars, the Red Planet, on a manned mission within the next ten years.
Naveen Jain, founder of Moon Express, expressed his willingness to work with Musk. His take on the possible partnership is that his company would build the rover while Musk's company would build the rocket.
However, Jain's first priority is to get to the moon to look for minerals, which he is planning next year. In fact, according to a report in CNBC, his Moon Express is the first private company to receive permission under U.S. law from Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation to be allowed to travel to the moon.
"Mars is absolutely the right place to be ultimately. But (the) moon is the first training ground and the first stepping stone. At the end of the day, we would rather me a lunatic three days away than be a Martian six months away," Jain told CNBC.
Jain believes that moon would be a learning experience for the next logical progression to Mars. The conditions obtaining on the moon are similar to those on Mars particularly in respect of high radiation and large temperature difference, and therefore, if the moon is conquered than Mars is no big deal.
While the partnership between Musk and Jain may be evolving with Jain speaking to Musk on the subject, what is already a reality is the fact that in Cape Canveral Moon Express' base is in the vicinity of Musk's SpaceX, as well as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
If the partnership between Musk and Jain fructifies then it would be an inter-planetary partnership truly and well-grounded on earth.
