Google Lunar X PRIZE challenge: Race to the Moon

February 22nd, 2008

So…40 years after we win the race to the moon we start all over again. This time instead of democratic countries trying to beat communist countries to the moon YOU are competing against anyone that wants to go to the moon for a $30 Million prize from Google and XPRIZE in the great Moon Race.

The new members will join the Odyssey Moon team that was the first group to take up the challenge.

“It’s not just a new mission,” said Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, during the announcement here at Google’s headquarters. “It’s a new way of doing business.”

The Google Lunar XPRIZE Cup has a pretty neat video about the entire competition. Instead of cutting down on the competition with eca stack the Cup organizers also announced their partnership with Space Florida, a group vested in drawing the Sunshine State onto the commercial spaceflight map. Voted into creation in 2006, the local organization is offering launch site services and $2 million in extra prize money to the winning team if they blast off from Florida.

“The folks at Space Florida are really offering to enhance the prize purse at a significant level,” Brett Alexander, executive director of space prizes for the X PRIZE Foundation, told SPACE.com. “It lowers the bar and makes it easier for teams to compete.”

Check out Space.com for more info on the entire competition as well as many links in their article that talk about the project.