2021 THE YEAR BRITAIN LAUNCHES TO THE MOON

INTERVIEW BIO

Pavlo Tanasyuk

Tanasyuk is the founder and CEO of space start-up company Spacebit, based in London. The company was founded in 2014, and in 2019 Spacebit signed an agreement to send the UK’s first mission to the Moon along with Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander. In 2021 the Peregrine lander and Spacebit’s Asagumo rover will launch in an attempt to bring space exploration success to an entire nation.

For anyone looking to put the day in their calendar, when and where can we expect the launch of Spacebit’s mission?

We don’t know the exact date right now, but it’s summer 2021. There can be a slight delay because of the supply chain. The main customer for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur launch is Astrobotic. But we trust the ULA and Astrobotic to get us to the Moon safely and on time.

Have you mapped out where the Peregrine lunar lander is set to land on the Moon?

Lacus Mortis. It’s north of the equator a little bit. It can get changed, but we expect that it will be there.