For the first time, the U.S. government just gave a private spaceflight company the equivalent of a passport to the moon.

Moon Express, a little-known spaceflight company, announced the federal approval on Wednesday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the move in a statement.

The company is aiming to send a robotic lander to the moon by the end of 2017, and while it still needs to manufacture and test its spacecraft, not to mention launch it to the moon aboard a yet-to-be-flown rocket, it now has regulatory approval from the federal government to eventually do exactly that.

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The company's decision to navigate the complex web of federal approval for such a space exploration missionbefore completing the design and build of its technology reflects the fact that bureaucratic complications rank high on the list of uncertainties for private spaceflight companies such as this one.

Better-known space firms, such as SpaceX, have also had to gain regulatory approval for their activities, though none has yet attempted to send a spacecraft to the moon or beyond.

A number of government agencies including the State Department, NASA and the FAA signed off on Moon Express's plan to fly to the moon after the company requested the government's approval earlier this year.

"There is no existing regulatory framework for private missions beyond Earth orbit, which is the fundamental reason why Moon Express created a proposed framework out of necessity to fill the regulatory gap for its 2017 lunar mission,"