5 Teams Compete for $30M Google Prize to Land a Spacecraft on the Moon
Five privately funded teams have been chosen as finalists to compete in the final leg of the $30 million "new space race" where they have to land a spacecraft on the moon.
The days when only government-funded organizations could launch space ventures are long gone. In today's world, with the likes of SpaceX revolutionizing space missions, privatization has become the new norm for extra-terrestrial exploration.
In an attempt to bolster this trend, Google and the XPrize foundation started a contest which pitted privately funded teams from all across the world in a race to see which one of them can land a spacecraft, and then maneuver it, on the moon. The deadline for launch has been set as December 31, 2017.
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The Google Lunar XPrize contest, first announced in 2007, initially attracted 29 teams to participate. Of them, only 5 teams remain who are vying for the astronomical prize. Google Lunar XPrize will award $20 million to the first team than lands a spacecraft on the moon, moves it 1,640 feet (500 meters) and has the vehicle to beam high-resolution photos and videos back to Earth. The second team to do so will receive $5 million while an additional $5 million (bringing the total upto $30M) will be awarded for accomplishing extra tasks, such as visiting an Apollo landing site or finding water on the moon.
The XPrize foundation has verified the launch contracts of the following five teams who are finalists in the competition: SpaceIL (Israel), Moon Express (USA), Synergy Moon (international coalition), Team Indus (India), and Hakuto (Japan).
SpaceIL plans to fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket while Team Indus and Hakuto will share a ride on an Indian Space Research Organisation's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Moon Express, a business that intends to provide lunar transportation and services like research and mining, is expecting a launch from Rocket Lab USA's Electron booster which is currently under development, reports Reuters. Synergy Moon is expected to launch on a new rocket known as Neptune 8 made by the Mojave, California-based Interorbital Systems.
Google and the XPrize foundation also announced a $1 million "Diversity Prize" to be split among the 16 teams who could not make it to the last stage of the competition.
"XPRIZE and Google have been awestruck by the educational outreach activities conducted by all of the competing teams and have decided to split the $1 million Diversity Prize across all 16 teams to recognize each of their unique approaches and initiatives over the years," said Chanda Gonzales-Mowrer, senior director, Google Lunar XPRIZE in a statement. "Each of these teams has pushed the boundaries to demonstrate that you don't have to be a government superpower to send a mission to the Moon, while inspiring audiences to pursue the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."
