A British-founded project to land a probe on the Moon has successfully completed its first round of funding via Kickstarter.
Lunar Mission One will be one of the first missions to explore deep beneath the surface of the Moon. Using large drills the probe will be able to take core samples giving scientists never-before-seen access to our closes neighbour.
In order to finance the mission the team turned to Kickstarter - at least for an initial burst of funding that should help it move towards a full mission. In return for pledges backers will get their own digital 'memory box' where they can store digital files which will then be transported to the Moon.
Once the probe lands, following years of development and fundraising to come, it will take the samples and then -- using the holes leftover from drilling -- bury a time capsule containing all the digital files.
The team were hoping to raise £600,000 but in fact managed to raise £672,447.
So what's next? Well using the money they will start fulfilling the pledges and also start putting together the necessary teams that will work on designing, planning and launching the probe.
There's no official launch date yet but Lunar Mission One's website suggests that it will take around four years to raise the full amount needed, through a combination of private backers and further merchandise sales.