Castrol is firmly planting a flag in the space industry through a new collaboration with space exploration company Lunar Outpost. The U.K. company will be lead collaborator in Lunar Outpost’s Mission Control Center for Lunar Voyage 1.
Both state and private space exploration is booming and is expected to be worth U.S. $1.8 trillion by 2035, according to the World Economic Forum.
Lunar Voyage 1 will be taken to the Moon in a Space X rocket, land at Shackleton Connecting Ridge and explore as yet uncharted areas around the south pole.
“Castrol has worked with NASA since the first Apollo missions,” said Lunar Outpost’s CEO Justin Cyrus. “Having the expertise of industry leaders with space heritage will not only support our commercial goals for Lunar Voyage 1 but will also help the space industry thrive.”
Meanwhile, parent company BP and NASA inked an agreement to share and develop digital technologies and technical expertise for the exploration of extreme environments, including deep sea, the Moon and Mars. The collaboration will initially focus on “creating standards and expanding visualization and simulation capabilities,” according to a BP press release.
“As NASA pursues a sustained presence on the Moon and Mars, we see a unique opportunity for BP and NASA to work collaboratively on the forefront of digital technology that will cultivate further innovation in energy and space,” said Ken Nguyen, principal technical program manager at BP.
Castrol and BP have supplied services and products, including its perfluoropolyether-based lubricants, for six decades to the Apollo missions, Mars Rovers, the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.