00:00Exuberance, I think, could be a factor, but I think in general, what I expect is more attention to the
00:08sector.
00:08And then I think within our sector, like a lot of sectors, you have companies that are better the closer
00:14you look
00:15and perhaps companies that don't stand up to scrutiny.
00:19And so I would see a bifurcation between the high-quality names and the names that maybe on second look
00:26aren't investable.
00:27But I think net-net, it's good for companies like Voyager, and it's good for the sector.
00:31So what's your vision for the lunar economy?
00:34Well, lunar, we have a 3L strategy.
00:36So just to be clear, the first L is low-Earth orbit or LEO.
00:40That's where the International Space Station is and our commercial space station effort, Starlab.
00:45Second L is lunar.
00:46The third, which we can spend some time on if of interest, is Lagrange.
00:51That's really a proxy for deep space.
00:54That's where the James Webb Telescope is, for example.
00:56But for lunar, look, I think there are a lot of use cases for lunar resources here on Earth.
01:02Helium-3 being one.
01:04Data centers in space would be another.
01:07Rare Earth minerals, which are rare here on Earth but not on the moon.
01:12So I think the lunar economy provides a huge opportunity for companies like ours and others.
01:17So you believe in the commercial, basically, advantage, right?
01:20The commercial use of it.
01:21What does it mean in terms of how Voyager will take advantage of that?
01:25So it's the first, second, and third step.
01:27Right.
01:27So we announced last week our intent to acquire Astrobotic, which is a lunar lander company.
01:33They're part of the NASA program to put commercial lunar landers on the moon and bring payloads to the moon.
01:40Administrator Isaac Minnett said that he wants to see lots and lots of additional moon landings, bringing payload.
01:46You know, we're going back.
01:47The Western world is going back not only for flags and footprints, but to actually deliver infrastructure to the surface
01:54of the moon.
01:55So for companies like ours, we're building an entire technology stack that allow us to deliver payloads to the surface
02:01of the moon, build habitation on the moon, and ultimately deliver, if you will, the picks and shovels that will
02:08make the moon useful to the lunar economy.
02:11I mean, I think it was in March that you made the strategic investment at MaxSpace, which is really, you
02:17know, about habitats.
02:18It feels very sci-fi.
02:20What kind of time frame are we looking at?
02:23You know, ideally, we would do a demo mission in the next couple of years with that lunar habitation module.
02:28That's still being worked out a bit, and, you know, it's a bit like taking your tent camping.
02:33This is a technology that allows you to have habitation that expands.
02:37So imagine fitting in a fairing or a lander, not taking up much volume, but then when you get to
02:43the surface of the moon, you can actually expand that habitation.
02:46So it's really interesting technology.
02:48You know, hopefully 2028, 2029, something like that, we can get something to the surface of the moon.
02:53And then commercially viable?
02:55I mean, how do you think, do you think about just the technology and then the commercial comes afterwards?
03:00Or do you actually have a plan to, you know, of demand and how people feel comfortable going up there?
03:05Well, there's quite a bit of demand.
03:07I mean, NASA alone is talking about something around $30 billion for lunar activities over the next several years.
03:14That's, of course, the Artemis program, the CLIPS lander program I mentioned earlier, and other initiatives that would have direct
03:22implications for the lunar economy.
03:24So I think there's plenty of capital there.
03:27And then ultimately, to your point, I think you need to ultimately have a self-sustaining lunar economy.
03:32We're probably still a few years out from that.
03:34But in the meantime, space agencies around the world are funding a lot of this.
03:38I mean, NASA definitely had success with the Artemis 2 mission around the moon.
03:41There were a lot of doubts, I guess, about what happens to the program from here.
03:45How does that impact you?
03:47You know, I don't have doubts about the program, to be frank.
03:50I think Artemis 2 was fantastic.
03:52I think it not only inspired people who are space buffs and aficionados, but I think it inspired the entire
03:57world.
03:58I mean, we sent humans further out than we've ever sent humans before, over a quarter million miles away from
04:04Earth.
04:05So I think it was super inspirational.
04:07You know, we had the Apollo generation years ago.
04:09I think we now have this Artemis generation we're forming.
04:13Next mission up is Artemis 3.
04:15That crew was just announced yesterday.
04:17That's a bit more of a technical mission, demonstrating some technologies in low Earth orbit before actually doing the very
04:23difficult mission, which is to land humans on the moon, Artemis 4.
04:27And that one's going to be, you know, very challenging.
04:30But I think if we pull that off, I think that'll be a huge inspiration, not only for the world,
04:35but I think a demonstration of how this technology has matured.
04:40Do you worry about the Chinese getting there first?
04:43I do.
04:43I do.
04:44We're in a space race.
04:45There's no doubt about it.
04:46China's space program is formidable, and they've certainly caught up in many respects.
04:53But I think there's still an advantage that the U.S. and the Western democracies have in the space race.
05:00I bet on our innovation.
05:02I bet on our capital markets.
05:04I bet on our entrepreneurs.
05:06And I bet on companies like Voyager to ultimately deliver the promises that we've made in terms of what we're
05:15going to do on the moon.
05:16I bet on our innovation.
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