FC Juventus lands on the moon

It was a weekend to forget for Juventus. The 0-4 defeat suffered last night from Atalanta – not the first poor performance at the Stadium in recent weeks – inevitably made noise, as did the fans' protest in the second half. The defeat in the direct clash, after the victories of Inter and Napoli, issued a definitive statement on the ambitions of the bianconeri: in the last ten matches, Thiago Motta's team, as confirmed by the coach himself after the match – will have to think more about the chasing teams, and therefore the fourth place, than the trio in the lead. Off the field, however, the club is coming off a 72-hour adventure in the galactic, space realm. And it's not the classic hyperbole used to describe a campaign, a communication project, or an out-of-the-box product, but an expression to be taken literally. As if we were talking about a NASA mission, because that's exactly the case: Juventus has landed on the Moon. A unique partnership has in fact sent the Turin club and the American space agency into space, alongside Intuitive Machines (IM), Lunar Outpost, and a handful of other entities involved in Lunar Voyage 1.

Thus, the journey of the IM Athena lander was dubbed, launched last Wednesday (February 26) from a base in Florida and landing yesterday near Mons Mouton, the lunar south pole. The goal: to continue with scientific explorations (such as investigating the presence of ice) and lay the foundations for Artemis, the NASA project aiming for the return of humans to the Moon in 2027 (with a base precisely at Mons Mouton). According to information shared by Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, the mission's outcome was affected by some landing difficulties, similar to what happened last year with the Odysseus expedition (compromised by the landing of the lander in a static position, tipped over on one side). Despite not being able to land the MAPP (Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform) rover – a small robotic vehicle made by Lunar Outpost and designed to move autonomously on the surface for a few days – the glass is more than half full. The control center reported that it never lost communication with the vehicle; thus, not only ruling out the possibility of a crash but also conducting most of the planned research activities (here's a detailed report).

The expedition involved top-tier technology partners, including Nokia (with antennas to test the LTE/4G network and the first Earth-Moon phone call), MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a micro-robot to collect temperature data and facilitate future operations), and Castrol (special lubricants for extreme conditions). And what was Juventus doing up there? Why was the logo of an Italian football club on the rover that traveled for eight days in space? Besides the scientific payloads, the mission clearly took on a commercial and cultural dimension. This is confirmed by the presence of sponsors such as Juventus, adidas, Nakamoto (bitcoin), and LEGO; or the photo that MAPP was supposed to take and sell to NASA for a symbolic dollar, as the first case of lunar economy in history. From a project perspective, collaboration with these brands is an interesting evidence, especially for the future, of the boost the private sector can give to space exploration. “Collaborating with Juventus allows us to engage a new audience in the excitement of space travel. Together, we inspire curiosity about what’s possible beyond Earth, exploring sustainable solutions that could improve life on our planet”, explained Justin Cyrus, founder and CEO of Lunar Outpost.

On the brand side, it is an unprecedented marketing insight. One could say: out of this world. The visibility and exclusivity of the journey, after all, speak for themselves; and never mind that the images of the rover carrying the J on the Moon never reached us. Scientific research, especially space research, is like this: not only major breakthroughs, but also and above all, trials and knowledge acquired little by little, pushing human knowledge ever further. “Juventus is historically driven by a spirit of innovation and discovery” - says Mike Armstrong, chief marketing officer - “and our partnership with Lunar Outpost extends this vision”. Indeed, it’s not every day you see a sports club aboard a spacecraft. “Being the first football club to participate in a lunar mission is a great source of pride for us”, continues Mike Armstrong. “It demonstrates our constant desire to explore new horizons, not just in sports”.

Indeed, Juventus embarked on this journey with no certainties, nor historical precedent. They accepted the rules of the game, the intrinsic risks of the operation, and the travel costs, contributing to the mission's feasibility. Then they were in space for eight days, until Friday morning's landing on the Moon. And there's still something on the horizon, as suggested by the statement published on the bianconeri’s website – which reads of a constantly evolving partnership, where Juventus and Lunar Outpost (which already has three lunar expeditions in the works) will continue to promote space exploration through future initiatives.