A British organization announced on Wednesday its plan to send a lunar mission to the surface of the moon in 10 years.
The project is different in the sense that it will be funded solely by the public instead of other missions that are funded by space agencies.
The mission, dubbed as Lunar Mission One, aims to raise at least £600,000, or $1 million, through Kickstarter to start the project. Supporters, who will pledge at least £60 or $95, can upload personal histories, pictures, video and other media in a digital time capsule that the lander will drop on the moon's surface. Make it at least £200 or $300, and one can add his or her hair strand, The Guardian reported.
If you think sending hair strands to the moon sounds odd, the report stated that 10 million people are willing to pluck a few out as a donation.
"It is increasingly difficult to fund space science and exploration of the kind aimed at developing understanding and knowledge," said David Iron, a former adviser to the UK government on space projects and the founder of Lunar Missions Ltd. "We are introducing a new form of funding, and if it works we'll have a legacy that shows it's possible to fund these missions very differently."
The U.K. moon landing mission plans to send a robotic lander to drill at least 20 meters deep in the moon and analyze rocks. Scientists, engineers and other academics have expressed their support of the mission as it will help further the understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon and Earth, according to The Telegraph.
The U.K. moon landing project will undergo three fundraising stages. The first stage will finance the initial management and planning for the mission; the second stage will allow people to join the Supporters club and the final stage will fund the marketing campaign of Lunar Mission One.
People do not need to worry about overfunding; excess funds will be donated to a charitable trust that will be spent on future space explorations, BBC reported.
The actual U.K. moon landing is expected to happen in 2024 on the moon's South Pole.
