The extreme sports media company is teaming with space explorers to do a new moon shot, which will be broadcast live worldwide.
Soft-drink giant and extreme sports group Red Bull is planning the world’s first private moon shot.
Teaming up with Berlin-based commercial space exploration company PTScientists, Red Bull will launch a robotic space mission in 2019 to land on the moon 50 years after Neil Armstrong first made his “giant step for mankind” on July 21, 1969.
The robotic space exploration mission will be led by Robert Bohme, the CEO of PTScientists, and aims to return to the historic landing site of the Apollo 17 mission.
The spacecraft ALINA (Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module) will retrace the path of the historic mission. Upon touchdown on the moon, ALINA will launch a pair of lunar rovers, developed by German carmaker Audi, to explore the lunar surface, including the footprints left by the American astronauts and the moon buggy left behind by the final moon mission in December 1972. Working together with mobile phone group Vodafone, the mission aims to set up the moon’s first 4G high-speed mobile network to allow the rovers to transmit data and HD video back to ALINA and on to Earth.
Red Bull’s Mission to the Moon will launch in the second half of the year and will be aired live across multiple devices and in various forms. Red Bull is planning three live programs, including the start of the mission from Earth, the landing of ALINA on the Moon and the first glimpse of the original lunar roving vehicle. Separately, documentary producers Terra Mater Factual Studios (The Ivory Game) will produce a three-part TV documentary series on the mission.
“We aim to create an ‘Apollo moment’ for a new generation,” says Bohme. “PTScientists believe that space belongs to everyone and Mission to the Moon will make space accessible for all to explore.”
In addition to Audi and Vodafone, Red Bull has got backing from Swiss watchmaker Omega and Swiss athletic show company On for the Mission to the Moon project.
The ambitious live TV event recalls Felix Baumgartner’s 24 mile space jump, which Red Bull sponsored, and which drew 8 million live viewers watching on YouTube, a record for the online platform.
Red Bull Media House will develop, produce and license the mission’s live broadcasts, as well as behind-the-scenes footage, feature documentaries and related content, including the mission’s soundtrack.
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