Sep 13 2007
From The Space Library
The X Prize Foundation and Google announced the creation of the Google Lunar X Prize, a contest with a US$30 million prize purse, inviting private companies worldwide to compete to land a privately funded robotic rover on the Moon. The prize purse consisted of a US$20 million grand prize, a US$5 million second prize, and US$5 million in bonus prizes. To win the grand prize, the rover would need to complete several mission objectives, including roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters (1,640 feet) and sending data back to Earth, including video and still images. The grand prize would be worth US$20 million until 31 December 2012, and then would be worth US$15 million until 31 December 2014. If no team claimed the grand prize by 31 December 2014, the competition would terminate, unless Google and the X Prize Foundation extended it. To win the second prize, which would also be available until 31 December 2014, a team would have to land a craft, which would roam the lunar surface and transmit data to Earth. The sponsors would distribute bonus prizes to teams that successfully completed additional mission tasks such as roaming distances greater than 5,000 meters (16,404 feet); capturing images of human-made artifacts, such as Apollo hardware; discovering water ice; or surviving a cold lunar night—the equivalent of 14.5 Earth days.
X Prize Foundation, “Google Sponsors Lunar X Prize To Create a Space Race for a New Generation,” news release, 13 September 2007, http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/lunar/press-release/google-sponsors-lunar-x-prize-to-create-a-space-race-for-a-new-generation (accessed 9 August 2010); John Schwartz, “$25 Million in Prizes Is Offered for Trip to Moon,” New York Times, 14 September 2007.
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