moonshot

Noun

moon shot (plural moon shots)

1. The launching of a spacecraft or an object to orbit or land on the Moon.
   • There will be many shots at the moon. Our nearest neighbor in the heavens patiently revolves around the earth, waiting for us to learn its secrets. What kind of moon shots can we use to find the answers to those secrets?1959 December, Dan Q. Posin, “An Eye on Space”, in Roderick M. Grant, editor, Popular Mechanics, volume 112, number 6, Chicago, Ill.: Popular Mechanics Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 70
2. An act of throwing or hitting a ball with a high trajectory.
   • [Mickey] Mantle pounds out a moon shot in this night contest when he slams the [base]ball against the left-center facing of the second deck at Comiskey Park.1998, David S. Nuttall, “Coming of Age”, in Mickey Mantle’s Greatest Hits, New York, N.Y.: S.P.I. Books, →ISBN, page 66
3. (figuratively) An expensive, hard, or unlikely task of great potential impact.
   • We defined a moonshot as a complex, large-scale objective that can be accomplished only when teams abandon "business as usual." Moonshots require significant breakthroughs in attitude, innovation, leadership, processes, management, and technology. They demand extraordinary execution and are often...2016, Lisa Goldman, Kate Purmal, Anne Janzer, “Preface”, in The Moonshot Effect: Disrupting Business as Usual, [Austin, Tx.]: Wynnefield Business Press, →ISBN