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New X Prize Aims For The Moon
When Burt Rutan and his ingenious Spaceship One claimed the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004, space-loving philanthropists started scrambling to come up with a new and bigger challenge. Spaceship One was such a success that countless billionaire eccentrics and high-tech companies wanted to sponsor the next contest.
Eventually, things got sorted out and Google emerged as the main sponsor for the new challenge, aptly named the Google Lunar X Prize.
The goal: A 100% privately funded craft must successfully land on the moon, travel on the lunar surface for at least 500 meters, and transmit a defined data package back to Earth.
The prize: A $30 million total purse size. $20 million goes to the first team to complete the mission, $5 million goes to the second team to complete the mission, and a $5 million bonus award goes to the first team to complete additional tasks, such as traveling more than 5,000 meters on the lunar surface, discovering ice, or surviving a frigid lunar night.
The coolest part about this mission, in my opinion, is the data package that has to be transmitted back to Earth. It is called a "Mooncast," and must include the following:
I can't wait to see how this new X Prize plays out. The Ansari X Prize was a spectacular contest, and this new Google Lunar X Prize should be even more exciting!
Finally, I bring you the promo videos:
Eventually, things got sorted out and Google emerged as the main sponsor for the new challenge, aptly named the Google Lunar X Prize.
The goal: A 100% privately funded craft must successfully land on the moon, travel on the lunar surface for at least 500 meters, and transmit a defined data package back to Earth.
The prize: A $30 million total purse size. $20 million goes to the first team to complete the mission, $5 million goes to the second team to complete the mission, and a $5 million bonus award goes to the first team to complete additional tasks, such as traveling more than 5,000 meters on the lunar surface, discovering ice, or surviving a frigid lunar night.
The coolest part about this mission, in my opinion, is the data package that has to be transmitted back to Earth. It is called a "Mooncast," and must include the following:
• High resolution 360º panoramic photographs taken on the surface of the Moon;
• Self portraits of the rover taken on the surface of the Moon;
• Near-real time videos showing the craft’s journey along the lunar surface;
• High Definition (HD) video;
• Transmission of a cached set of data, loaded on the craft before launch (e.g. first email from the Moon).
Teams will be required to send a Mooncast detailing their arrival on the lunar surface, and a second Mooncast that provides imagery and video of their journey roaming the lunar surface. All told, the Mooncasts will represent approximately a Gigabyte of stunning content returned to the Earth.
I can't wait to see how this new X Prize plays out. The Ansari X Prize was a spectacular contest, and this new Google Lunar X Prize should be even more exciting!
Finally, I bring you the promo videos:
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