Nike Space Force 1! Moon rover launching in 2026 will offer brands the opportunity to advertise their products on the lunar surface

Sci-fi stories have long depicted human settlements on the moon as filled with glitzy advertisements and bright neon signs.

For example, in the 2019 film ‘Ad Astra’, a moon colony is peppered with logos of major brands such as Virgin, Apple and Atico.

Now it looks like two companies are about to take a big step in advertising by making it a reality in just a few years.

Californian startup Astrolab has signed a deal with a creative agency called Group of Humans to offer brands the chance to advertise on the moon.

Astrolab aims to send its ‘Flex’ rover to the moon in 2026, although it’s unclear how exactly the moon buggy would be involved in flogging the latest products.

In the 2019 film Ad Astra, a future colony on the moon is peppered with the logos of major brands such as Virgin, Apple and Atico

Advertisements could potentially appear on the side of the buggy, which is designed to transport people and materials around the moon.

Rob Noble, founder of Group of Humans, explained the times that brands in sectors such as telecommunications, construction and the arts could benefit from moon ads.

The company has developed a ‘moon charter’ that all participating brands must sign, which establishes a commitment to the ‘improvement of life on Earth’.

“Brands can really differentiate themselves if they put themselves in a situation where there is no atmosphere and gravity is limited,” Mr Noble said.

‘You expose your products to all kinds of extremes, so you learn and at the same time prove to the consumer that it is really strong.’

The idea of ​​product placement during space travel is nothing new, he pointed out.

For example, during the Apollo missions of the 1960s, Omega’s Speedmaster wristwatch was an official part of every astronaut’s equipment.

And NASA is working with Prada to design spacesuits that astronauts can wear to the moon during the Artemis III mission.

Californian space startup Astrolab wants to send its ‘Flex’ rover to the moon in 2026, aimed at transporting cargo and astronauts

NASA hopes to develop a sustainable lunar exploration program starting in 2028. This artist’s illustration shows what NASA’s Artemis Base Camp might look like

But Noble ruled out any “stunt” similar to the recent failed Peregrine One mission to the moon, which carried the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

Unfortunately, Peregrine One burned up in Earth’s atmosphere without reaching the lunar surface, meaning Roddenberry’s remains were lost.

“It’s not about some bullshit stunts to send in Star Trek leftovers,” he said.

“We are focused on ensuring that the moon’s resources are cared for and conserved.

‘It’s about really thinking and realizing that this is going to be very important for humanity.

‘We want to find the companies that really want to change the world.’

Astrolab made headlines a few years ago when it unveiled a prototype for its Flex rover that would allow humans to quickly fly around the moon’s surface.

The buggy can also crouch and lift loads up from the lunar soil, before carrying them under its belly and dropping the load off at a desired location.

The full-scale Flex prototype completed a test run in the California desert near Death Valley

The buggy can also crouch and lift loads up from the lunar soil, before carrying them under its belly and dropping the load off at a desired location.

The buggy can be controlled remotely, maneuver semi-autonomously and even be customized with a crew interface so astronauts can ride aboard as they cruise the lunar surface

Astrolab plans to assemble a fleet of its rovers in the coming years in an effort to become “the UPS, FedEx and the Uber of the moon.”

The full-scale prototype completed a test run in the California desert near Death Valley, a surface on Earth most similar to the dusty surface of the moon.

Elon Musk’s company SpaceX will transport the first Flex rover to the moon in mid-2026, the same year NASA plans to put humans on the moon again.

Ultimately, Flex will be one of perhaps hundreds of private companies that have developed equipment to maintain a permanent lunar base.

Ultimately, NASA plans to have a base camp set up in the southern lunar region by the end of this decade as part of its Artemis program.

The group of people website is currently calling on interested companies to contact us.

It reads: ‘Our mission with Astrolab’s Flex rover in 2026 is not just a trip to the moon; it is a leap forward for science, culture and civilization itself.

‘We’re asking a handful of the world’s most responsible and iconic brands to help create a new frontier in communications, product innovation and ethos.’

NASA plans to send a crewed mission to Mars in the 2030s, after the first landing on the moon

Mars has become the next great step forward in humanity’s space exploration.

But before humans reach the red planet, astronauts will take a series of small steps by returning to the moon for a year-long mission.

Details of the lunar orbit mission have been revealed as part of a timeline of events leading to missions to Mars in the 2030s.

NASA has outlined its four-phase plan (pictured) that it hopes will one day allow humans to visit Mars at the Humans to Mars Summit held yesterday in Washington DC. This will entail several missions to the moon in the coming decades

In May 2017, Greg Williams, deputy associate administrator for policy and plans at NASA, outlined the space agency’s four-phase plan that it hopes will one day allow humans to visit Mars, as well as the expected time frame.

Phase one and two It will involve multiple trips to lunar space to allow for the construction of a habitat that will serve as a staging area for the journey.

The final piece of hardware delivered would be the actual Deep Space Transport vehicle that would later be used to transport a crew to Mars.

And in 2027, a year-long simulation of life on Mars will be conducted.

Phases three and four will begin after 2030 and will include long-duration crew expeditions to the Martian system and the surface of Mars.