Hey Reader,

MoonDAO Updates

Q1 Retroactive Rewards

Every three months, MoonDAO holds what we call Quarterly Retroactive Rewards. Imagine it like getting a report card for the cool projects we've wrapped in the last three months, but instead of grades, we're giving out financial and governance rewards to contributors in the form of ETH and voting MOONEY!

We want to make sure everyone gets a fair share based on the actual results delivered as a project and an individual's effort on each project, which is why we use retroactive rewards rather than paying it all upfront (think: promises made vs. results delivered).

To find that fair share, we use a mix of what our Senators suggest and what everyone in MoonDAO thinks.

• First, our Senators give their opinions on which projects should get what.
• Then, we all get to vote on which suggestion we like best. All of us MoonDAO members take a look at the projects and decide which projects deserve a bigger piece of the pie.

Once the final vote has been compiled, each project team splits up the reward among themselves. So, if a project gets a bunch of ETH and MOONEY, they'll figure out internally who did what and give them their fair share.

But wait, how do we figure out how much we'll give out in a quarter? Well, we've got a treasury filled with different types of tokens like Ethereum (ETH), DAI, and others. We take a small piece of that (5% of the total), and use it as our total reward pool for all eligible projects.

Now, let's talk about MOONEY. It's MoonDAO's token that gives you power to vote and help govern things in MoonDAO. You're part of a democratized space program with actual voting powers!

Each quarter, we distribute a small bit of MOONEY (less than 2%) to align incentives so contributors continue working toward the long-term success of the DAO rather than seek out short-term profits. But it isn’t released into circulation. Instead, contributors receive MOONEY that has been locked for four years so it can only be used to vote and for DAO decision making (but not sold).

​Voting has begun for MoonDAO's retroactive rewards for projects completed during Q1 2024. The Senate has made their recommendations, now MoonDAO Citizens get the final word. You can review the final reports and reward the projects that delivered the biggest impact and value to the DAO.

For full details of how this process and vote works, please click here.

You can catch a recording of the final presentations on YouTube.

Click to read final reports:

• ​SWE - Second Astronaut Selection Extension​
• ​ENT - MoonDAO Entities
• ​ZER - Zero G Charter
• ​NEW - MoonDAO Newsletter Q1-24
• ​VIT - MoonDAO Makerspace At Vitalia
• ​SPA - Spacetime Protocol
• ​MAR - MoonDAO Digital Asset Marketplace Expansion
• ​WEB - MoonDAO Webmaster V2

In the vote, you can choose which rocketeer distribution (R1, R2, R3, etc...) you agree with most, or alternatively choose the average of all rocketeer distributions.

​BE SURE TO VOTE BEFORE APRIL 11!​

Bite-Sized Space News

Total Eclipse in North America

Of course, the biggest space news of the day was the total solar eclipse that mesmerized parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada, as daytime turned to darkness when the moon obscured the sun. Millions of people gathered along the path of totality to witness this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

Despite the threat of cloud cover across much of the path of totality in the United States, many lucked out with only sporadic cloud cover, although that wasn’t the case for all.

Looking ahead, the next total solar eclipse will happen in 2026 in Europe, but North America will have to wait until 2044 and 2045. These events are rare opportunities that unite humanity in celestial observation and communal celebration.

We hope today’s experience fosters a fascination with outer space. We’re truly living in the most exciting time for space access and exploration... and this is just the beginning.

Starbase Presentation

Last week, Elon Musk spoke to SpaceX employees at Starbase providing updates about the Starship program and greater insight into upcoming plans.

During his speech, Musk outlined plans to increase the size of future Starship vehicles (V2 and V3) to enhance payload capacity, increase Starship production, and detailed some of the goals for flight tests four and five, where flight four will land on a “virtual tower” in the ocean and, if that goes well, flight five may attempt to actually land on the tower.

Speaking of towers, SpaceX aims to build additional launch towers in Texas and Florida (for a total of two at each location), facilitating operational launches for missions like NASA's Artemis lunar landings.

Musk envisions seeding a self-sustaining civilization on Mars (although a Moonbase should come first), requiring numerous launches and a fleet of vehicles dispatched during optimal trajectory windows. Musk's ambition to make life multiplanetary has faced criticism and ridicule, but SpaceX's progress, including successful test flights of the Starship spacecraft and advancements in reusable rocket technology, lends credibility to his vision.

Test Flight 4 is expected sometime in May. On that note, last week Booster 11 performed a static fire test, an important step in preparing for the orbital flight test.

For those interested, the full presentation can be viewed by clicking here.

Lunar Vehicle Contracts

Last week, NASA awarded initial contracts to three private companies to develop lunar rovers capable of enduring the harsh conditions near the Moon's South Pole for up to a decade. Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab will collaborate with NASA over the next year for a "preliminary design review" of rovers that can operate autonomously and support astronauts when needed. While the initial awards are modest, they pave the way for a more substantial demonstration phase.

Following the completion of the initial design work, NASA intends to choose one or more companies to proceed with demonstrating their rover on the lunar surface later in the decade or in the early 2030s. With a combined potential value of $4.6 billion over ten years, this initiative underscores NASA's ongoing commitment to leveraging commercial space capabilities. The selected companies face the formidable challenge of engineering rovers capable of withstanding extreme temperature fluctuations, radiation, and rocky terrain.

Upcoming Launches

• Roscosmos Angara A5 | Test Flight on Tue Apr 9, 2024 4:00 AM GMT-5 from Site 1A, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia
• ULA Delta IV Heavy | NROL-70 on Tue Apr 9, 2024 11:53 AM GMT-5 from SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA
• SpaceX Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-48 on Tue Apr 9, 2024 11:00 PM GMT-5 from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA

That’s it for your MoonDAO updates this week. Join us on Discord to stay up-to-date with all the latest developments.