Mission & Vision
Mission: To pioneer lunar resource prospection by developing and deploying swarms of autonomous rovers, securing proprietary technology, and establishing legal precedence for lunar mining rights.
Vision: The leading provider of lunar mining prospection services, enabling sustainable resource extraction for a lunar economy.
Legacy: ALM draws upon a proven track record in lunar exploration, leveraging the design, construction, launch, and successful deep-space operation of five advanced miniaturized lunar rovers. These rovers were deployed in January 2024 aboard the Peregrine lander from Astrobotic Technology, launched on ULA’s Vulcan-Centaur rocket.
Market Opportunity
The lunar market is projected to reach $3.9B by 2031, driven by NASA’s Artemis program and private sector interest in in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). ALM will develop proprietary rover technology and conduct a proof-of-concept campaign with a single prototype rover to secure mining licenses and attract commercial and government clients.
- NASA: Lunar Terrain Vehicle by 2030, requiring rovers for resource prospection.
- Private Sector: Companies like Intuitive Machines and Lunar Outpost are developing rovers for NASA’s CLPS, indicating a commercial market for prospection services (SpaceNews).
- International Interest: ESA, China, and India are pursuing lunar ISRU technology development and missions, increasing competition and collaboration opportunities.
Space Based Solar Power: Large orbital solar farms will be developed in the near future in geostationary orbit, with a first prototype expected by 2035, for energy beaming to customers on Earth and in orbit. The required solar panels could be more cheaply produced on and shipped from the Moon with local resources.
Large Lunar Scientific Experiments: The Moon is unique for some astrophysical experiments like radio telescopes or gravitational wave detectors which require large infrastructures which are only viable if produced by industry on the Moon by ISRU.
Business Model
Prospection Data Sales (PDS)
Sell high-resolution resource maps (water ice, volatiles, metals) to NASA, private companies, and international agencies.
Rover Technology Licensing (RTL)
License proprietary rover designs and software to aerospace partners.
Service Contracts (SC)
Operate rover swarms for clients under CLPS or commercial agreements.
Mining License Development (MLD)
Secure legal precedence for mining rights, monetizing licenses or partnerships with mining operators.
Investment in Co-ownership of the Technology (ICT)
Commercial mining or aerospace companies interested in co-ownership of the developed swarm autonomous rover prospection technology.
Marketing Contracts (MC)
Advertisement sales for mining or other companies on lunar rovers.
Increase TRL (ITRL)
Commercial contracts for increasing the TRL of components and materials validated for industrial or military use on the ground or in LEO.
Product Offerings
Prototype Rover (Phase 1)
- Lightweight (2 kg), solar-powered rovers for mid-latitudes prospection.
- Equipped with O-NIR spectrometers, neutron spectrometers, thermal imaging, permittivity probes and penetrometers probes for volatile detection.
- Autonomous navigation inside the horizon.
- Diurnal operation over a single lunar day.
- Survival test to hibernation over one night.
Swarm Rovers (Phase 2)
- Fleet of 10-20 micro-rovers (5-10 kg each) for simultaneous, distributed prospection.
- Designed to operate in PSRs (-230°C).
- Autonomous navigation with AI-driven slip detection and regolith modeling, integrating sensor fusion and reinforcement learning to refine performance.
- Cycles of diurnal operation combined with nocturnal hibernation over 10 or more lunar days.
- Navigation beyond the horizon and generation of dynamical geographical reference systems.
Data Products: 3D resource maps, volatile distribution models, and ISRU feasibility reports, licensable technology.
Legal Framework: Precedent-setting prospection campaign to support mining license applications under the Artemis Accords and other international frameworks.
Development Line
ALM-1 (2024)
- Proof of concept for miniaturization in space
- Validation of miniaturized technology in deep space
- Lunar Regolith Science on the Surface and Boundary Layer
ALM-2 (2027)
- Mining robots: 3 different models
- Diurnal work / Survival One Night
- New Power System
- Spatial positioning
- Navigation Off the Horizon
ALM-3 (2030)
- Final Robot Model
- Platform and interface for generic payloads
- Chemical Sensors
- Data storage
- Material transport
- Long-term survival with nocturnal hibernation
- Swarm work
ALM-2 (2028) Rovers for mining prospection: Diurnal operation, Survival to one-night hibernation, Spatial positioning, Navigation Off the Horizon, Prospection sensors (UV-O-NIR reflectance spectrometer, Mass spectrometer, Neutron detector, Reflectivity, Resistivity, Dielectric permittivity, Subsurface temperature). Science: Characterization of plasma boundary layer and regolith.
ALM-1 Legacy
ALM-1 Robots x5 (Mass per robot: 56 grams, Total mass = 608 grams
Astrobotic Peregrine Launch: January 8, 2024, Sinus Viscositatis
Validation space micro-robotics and miniaturization
Certification for launch and flight
Cislunar space operation (400 thousand km distance)
75% success rate at project level
ALM-2 Prototype
Cameras, Antennas, Contact sensors, LIDAR, Non-Contact sensors (UV-O-NIR spectrometer, Mass spectrometer, Reflectance, Neutrons, MHD sensors).
Leadership
CEO and Chief Architect: Gustavo MEDINA TANCO
Gustavo Medina-Tanco
Professor Gustavo Medina-Tanco is CEO & Chief Architect of Ant Lunar Mining Corporation LLC, where he leads bold efforts in lunar resource utilization. In parallel, he holds influential international leadership roles: Co-Chair of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Space Physics Committee, Chair of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Space Astrophysics Technical Committee, and Vice-Chair of the IAF Space Universities Administrative Committee. He is also an elected member of both the IAA and the Mexican Academy of Engineering.
An astrophysicist of global standing, Medina-Tanco is a Professor at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). There, he directs the Space Instrumentation Laboratory (LINX), which he founded in 2009, and leads the ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray group. For a decade, he served as scientific coordinator of the JEM-EUSO international collaboration and continues on its executive board, guiding Mexico’s contributions to space and stratospheric missions with CNES, NASA, ASI, and ROSCOSMOS.
His visionary projects include the creation of ATON, Mexico’s first balloon-borne science and engineering platform, and its expanded Pixqui system with CSBF-NASA. He also leads missions such as NanoConnect, NanoSWAI, and COLMENA—with Colmena-1 marking Mexico’s first lunar mission in January 2024 aboard the Peregrine lander.
Medina-Tanco’s national and international service extends to the ISECG Science Working Group and advisory roles to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Congress on outer-space legislation. His achievements have earned him the Fernando Alba Medal (2022), the Gold Eagle Medal for Global Leaders (2023), the Medal of Scientific Excellence (2024), and the honor of being named Exemplary Mexican 2025.
He has authored over 232 refereed papers with more than 23,000 citations, delivered over 500 conference communications, and supervised numerous theses and postdoctoral researchers. Educated in Argentina and Brazil, he earned a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of São Paulo, with advanced training at Cambridge, Leeds, RIKEN, and IRAP. He has held faculty appointments at the University of São Paulo’s IAG and Vanderbilt University.
Through his leadership in lunar mining, astrophysics, and international cooperation, Gustavo Medina-Tanco is shaping the future of humanity’s exploration and utilization of space.