GOOGLE LUNAR X PRIZE - The race to Land on Moon
Posted: 25 Dec 2013 08:22
The Google Lunar XPRIZE, the largest international incentive based prize of all time, aims to do something we haven’t done as humanity since 1973, safely land on the surface of the Moon. More than half of the world’s population has never had the opportunity to view a live transmission from the lunar surface. The Google Lunar XPRIZE aims to create a new “Apollo” moment for this generation and to spur continuous lunar exploration with $40 Million in incentive based prizes. In order to win this money, a private company must land safely on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters above, below, or on the Lunar surface, and send back two “Mooncasts” to Earth. Teams may also compete for Bonus Prizes such as exploring lunar artifacts or surviving the lunar night, and can be awarded prize money earlier by completing terrestrial or in-space milestones. All of this must be completed by December 31, 2015. The race is on!
http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/
This competition is open to ONLY PRIVATE PLAYERS.......NOT governments and this is what makes it different!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE on the competition
Adapted from - http://robohub.org/google-lunar-x-prize ... eam-indus/
The private space race is on! With the $40M at stake from the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) leading other private and pseudo-private investment, this is a real race. I, for one, love racing. By foot, by beast, or by vehicle, racing is such a pure contest — so thrilling to watch with its progress and reversals. And this is a race to the Moon! The finish line is on the Moon!! Everyone in the world whose heart is stirred by exploration and competition should be excited about this. We should be particularly excited about this at Robohub because this is the biggest ever private competition purse and it is for space robots!
Google_Lunar_X_Prize. The rules of the Lunar X Prize are that, to win the grand prize ($20M + bonuses), you must land on the moon before the end of 2015 and move at least 500 meters while sending back HD video. The second place team also gets a small prize and a shot at some of the bonuses. Additionally, there are some milestone prizes. In 2014, about $10M in prize money will go to teams that demonstrate a series of technical and team objectives here on Earth. I look forward to seeing those awards, because it will give us a better idea of who is ahead and whether launch dates tell the story.
To enjoy racing, you must be able to know who is ahead right now, but there is surprisingly little coverage of this event that gives a clear picture of which of the Lunar X Prize teams are on track to finish and who is leading. Since the key to this race is getting launched, my view is that whoever has a launch agreement this stage is a strong contender. So without further ado, here are my picks for the Google Lunar X Prize leader board:
GLXP-Leader-Board
Currently, according to the Google Lunar X Prize website, there are 20-odd teams that are still “Active.” Current leaders are Barcelona Moon Team and Astrobotic — they both claim booking on launch vehicles. Moon Express and Team Indus have made ambiguous statements about possibly having an identified launch vehicle. Other teams do not look to be far enough along to be seriously considering a launch before the end of 2015 — though I would be very happy to be wrong on this point.
http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/
This competition is open to ONLY PRIVATE PLAYERS.......NOT governments and this is what makes it different!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE on the competition
Adapted from - http://robohub.org/google-lunar-x-prize ... eam-indus/
The private space race is on! With the $40M at stake from the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) leading other private and pseudo-private investment, this is a real race. I, for one, love racing. By foot, by beast, or by vehicle, racing is such a pure contest — so thrilling to watch with its progress and reversals. And this is a race to the Moon! The finish line is on the Moon!! Everyone in the world whose heart is stirred by exploration and competition should be excited about this. We should be particularly excited about this at Robohub because this is the biggest ever private competition purse and it is for space robots!
Google_Lunar_X_Prize. The rules of the Lunar X Prize are that, to win the grand prize ($20M + bonuses), you must land on the moon before the end of 2015 and move at least 500 meters while sending back HD video. The second place team also gets a small prize and a shot at some of the bonuses. Additionally, there are some milestone prizes. In 2014, about $10M in prize money will go to teams that demonstrate a series of technical and team objectives here on Earth. I look forward to seeing those awards, because it will give us a better idea of who is ahead and whether launch dates tell the story.
To enjoy racing, you must be able to know who is ahead right now, but there is surprisingly little coverage of this event that gives a clear picture of which of the Lunar X Prize teams are on track to finish and who is leading. Since the key to this race is getting launched, my view is that whoever has a launch agreement this stage is a strong contender. So without further ado, here are my picks for the Google Lunar X Prize leader board:
GLXP-Leader-Board
Currently, according to the Google Lunar X Prize website, there are 20-odd teams that are still “Active.” Current leaders are Barcelona Moon Team and Astrobotic — they both claim booking on launch vehicles. Moon Express and Team Indus have made ambiguous statements about possibly having an identified launch vehicle. Other teams do not look to be far enough along to be seriously considering a launch before the end of 2015 — though I would be very happy to be wrong on this point.
