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Planetary News: Private Missions (2007)Google Lunar X PRIZE Encourages New Space RaceSeptember 13, 2007
The X PRIZE Foundation and Google Inc. today announced the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the Moon to win a $30 million prize purse. Private companies from around the world will compete to land a privately funded robotic rover on the Moon that is capable of completing several mission objectives, including roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending video, images, and data back to Earth. The Google Lunar X PRIZE is the third prize the Foundation has announced since its inception in 1995. In 2004, the X PRIZE Foundation, an educational nonprofit prize organization, captured world headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private spaceship to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Foundation has since expanded its mission beyond space exploration. In 2006, the X PRIZE Foundation launched the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, a $10 million competition in which the winning team will demonstrate the ability to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days. "The Google Lunar X PRIZE calls on entrepreneurs, engineers, and visionaries from around the world to return us to the lunar surface and explore this environment for the benefit of all humanity," said Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation. "We are confident that teams from around the world will help develop new robotic and virtual presence technology, which will dramatically reduce the cost of space exploration." "Having Google fund the purse and title the competition punctuates our desire for breakthrough approaches and global participation," continued Diamandis. "By working with the Google team, we look forward to bringing this historic private space race into every home and classroom. We hope to ignite the imagination of children around the world." A New Era of Lunar ExplorationIn the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a historic superpower Moon race, which culminated in 12 men exploring the surface of the Moon. The first era of lunar exploration reached a dramatic conclusion in December 1972 as Apollo 17 Astronauts Captain Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the last men on the Moon. Today, governments from around the world are focused on the Moon: Europe recently completed a lunar mission and national space agencies from the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan all plan to send probes to the Moon in the coming decade, with Japan's KAGUYA (also known as SELENE) is set to launch this week. The launch of KAGUYA marks the beginning of The Planetary Society's International Lunar Decade, a period when several nations are actively planning missions to the Moon, leading to a proposed human-occupied lunar base. "Many nations have set their sights on the Moon," said Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society. "We hope that the International Lunar Decade will combine that worldwide interest into a program of international cooperation that will enhance the peaceful exploration of space." Along with these planned government missions, Friedman noted that interest in private lunar missions is again growing. "The Planetary Society encourages all-comers to the International Lunar Decade," he stated. The PrizeThe $30 million prize purse is segmented into a $20 million Grand Prize, a $5 million Second Prize, and $5 million in bonus prizes. To win the Grand Prize, a team must successfully soft land a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon, rove on the lunar surface for a minimum of 500 meters, and transmit a specific set of video, images, and data back to Earth. The Grand Prize is $20 million until December 31, 2012; thereafter it will drop to $15 million until December 31, 2014, at which point the competition will be terminated unless extended by Google and the X PRIZE Foundation. To win the Second Prize, a team must land their spacecraft on the Moon, rove, and transmit data back to Earth. Second place will be available until December 31, 2014 at which point the competition will be terminated unless extended by Google and the X PRIZE Foundation.
Bonus prizes will be won by successfully completing additional mission tasks such as roving longer distances (more than 5,000 meters), imaging manmade artifacts (e.g. Apollo hardware), discovering water ice, and/or surviving through a frigid lunar night (approximately 14.5 Earth days). The competing lunar spacecraft will be equipped with high-definition video and still cameras, and will send images and data to Earth, which the public will be able to view on the Google Lunar X PRIZE website. The Google Lunar X PRIZE is supported by several strategic alliances. Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), run by entrepreneur, X PRIZE Foundation Trustee, and Planetary Society Board Member Elon Musk, is offering competing teams an in-kind contribution, lowering the cost of its Falcon Launch Vehicle. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), operated by the SETI Institute, will serve as a downlink provider for communications from the Moon to Earth. The Saint Louis Science Center serves as the Foundation's official education partner and the coordinator of an international network of museums and science centers. The International Space University (ISU), based in Strasbourg, France, will conduct international team outreach and facilitate an unbiased judging committee. |
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