WASHINGTON – The Florida startup Moon Express is setting its sights high: ambitiously shooting to become the first private company to launch a small, unmanned craft to the moon before the year's out. A big success could pave the way for scheduled flights to deliver scientific and exploration equipment, to exploit lunar soil resources and commercial potential. In a recent interview with AFP, CEO and co-founder Robert Richards acknowledged that it is a "very optimistic date given that the rocket has yet to achieve orbit and given we are still building our vehicle." The race to try this first flight on a tight deadline was motivated at least in part by the $20 million offered by the Google Lunar X-prize in 2007. The condition: be a private entity and launch a craft to the moon's surface by Dec. 31, 2017. Another condition will be, once on the moon, to move the ship or a robot on board, over 500 meters and to transmit a video and photographs back to Earth.