The American start-up Lonestar has just raised 5 million dollars in order to materialize its project to build data centers on the Moon. An idea that adds to all the emulation about the return of human beings to our natural satellite.
A first test should take place by the end of the year through the second lunar mission of the Intuitive Machines program.
Data centers 384,000 kilometers from Earth
The idea may seem crazy, but the project is well and truly underway. While space agencies are preparing for the return of humanity to the Moon with the Artemis project, and there is talk of a time zone specific to the satellite, an American start-up is making a lot of noise. This is Lonestar, whose idea is quite simply to install data centers on the Moon. Beyond the feat itself, the idea would be to have racks safe from natural disasters and bombs. The Moon is certainly exposed to asteroid impacts, but the frequency of impact at a given location is currently negligible.
” In my opinion, it is inconceivable that we keep our most precious data, our knowledge […] on Earth, where we are detonating bombs right now said Christopher Scott, CEO of Lonestar.
The idea obviously appealed to investors, who paid $5 million in a round table organized by Scout Ventures. Investors include Seldor Capital, 2 Future Holding, Atypical Ventures, and Irongate Capital. Not much for such an ambitious project, but things should pick up speed quickly.
A first test by the end of the year
Lonestar will obviously need more funds to see their idea through, but contracts have already been signed with Intuitive Machines. This is a company funded in part by NASA, which will experience its first launch next June aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. By the end of the year, Lonestar will integrate its concept into the payload of the second lunar mission of Intuitive Machines. It will take the form of a small data center the size of a bound novel, stored in the Nova-C lander and in which a small amount of data can be stored.
Software tests will then be run on this prototype to demonstrate the viability of the project. If all goes well, larger data centers will then be sent to the visible side of the Moon, whose stability allows constant communication. Remember that the NASA funding received by Lonestar is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), which is itself part of the Artemis lunar exploration program.
Source : SpaceNews
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