Martian Mission May Pave Way For Moon Rides

For four long years David Gump has wined and dined potential investors, trying to convince them that his company really can send two golf cart-size robot vehicles to the moon and create earthbound theme park rides in which people viewing live video from the lunar surface would take turns behind the wheel. So far, his efforts have been for naught.

But now, thanks to another robot rover, named Sojourner, Gump hopes his luck will change.

Gump’s company, LunaCorp of Arlington, Va., seeks to raise $250 million to conduct the first privately funded lunar mission in the year 2000. The goal is to send up a pair of vehicles equipped with cameras.

The rovers would send back video images to a special theater, where thousands of thrill-seekers would be able to “teleport” their senses to the moon as they rode motion platforms surrounded by live video of the terrain being explored at that moment.