Private company unveils robot space crafts set to land on the moon

Moon.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, private space start-up Moon Express unveiled its plans to land an interlocking team of space crafts on the moon by 2020. Moon Express, founded in 2010, released images and animations of its so-called MX Robotic Explorers, special robots that will be designed for mining and exploration.

Their first craft, the MX-1E, stands 4-and-a-half feet tall and 3 feet wide and will act as a base for other crafts, as it is built to connect with other models in a Lego-like fashion. Moon Express says the R2-D2-sized machine will be able to land up to 66 pounds, hop across the moon, and return to Earth.

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Elianna Spitzer

Elianna Spitzer is a rising junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Politics and American Studies. She is also a news editor and writer at The Brandeis Hoot. When she is not covering campus news, Elianna can be found arguing legal cases with her mock trial team.q