--- title: "A Small Company Is Quietly Planning a Moon Mission Next Year" description: "Aerospace startup Rocket Lab is planning its first mission to the Moon in 2021 to test out navigation systems in its orbit." date: "2020-06-18" modified: "2020-06-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/rocket-lab-planning-moon-mission-next-year" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "lunar gateway" - "lunar orbit" - "Rocket Lab" - "the digest" --- # A Small Company Is Quietly Planning a Moon Mission Next Year ![Aerospace startup Rocket Lab is planning its first mission to the Moon in 2021 to test out navigation systems in its orbit.]() *\Image: Rocket Lab\* ## Moon Orbiter Aerospace startup Rocket Lab is planning a private mission to the Moon in 2021, [*The Verge* reports]() — meaning that, if it's successful, it'll become the first-ever commercial lunar orbiter. The California-based aerospace startup is hoping to send its CAPSTONE spacecraft to orbit the Moon and to test out navigation systems, laying groundwork for future visits. The company isn't starting from zero. In fact, it has launched its Electron rocket [12 times already](), launching some 53 spacecraft into Earth's orbit. The news comes after Rocket Lab [announced]() it will fly back-to-back missions for the US National Reconnaissance Office from its Launch Complex 1 facility in New Zealand starting next year. ## CAPSTONE The CAPSTONE lunar satellite will be propelled into the Moon's orbit using an upgraded version of Rocket Lab's tried-and-true Photon spacecraft, a vehicle used to deploy payloads including satellites. Propelling the Photon is a 3D-printed engine called the HyperCurie, an upgraded version of the company's liquid-propelled rocket engine Curie, which has previously been used to boost two CubeSat satellites in 2018 — Rocket Lab's [first successful orbital launch](). ## To the Moon and Beyond If all goes according to plan, the CAPSTONE satellite will get within 1,000 miles of the lunar surface. In fact, it will trace the same orbit that NASA is planning for its crewed [Lunar Gateway space station](), according to *The Verge*. Rocket Lab isn't ready to stop there. "We’re looking at not just the Moon but Venus and Mars," Amanda Stiles, Moon program manager for Rocket Lab, told *The Verge*. **READ MORE:** [How small launcher Rocket Lab plans to pull off its first mission to the Moon next year]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on Rocket Lab:** *[A Private Company Just Successfully Launched Their Rocket Into Space]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()