Itâs been 36 years since NASAâs last Apollo lander left the moonâs surface. But while the agencyâs plans to return humans to the moon remain confused, a pack of private teams are racing to send robots to kick up lunar dust and claim the $20-million announced nearly two years ago.
So far 19 teams have registered for the contest. To win, they must land a rover on the moon that will then drive 500 metres before turning to photograph its landing site â all before the end of 2012. The team that does it first will pick up $20 million. Second place will earn $5 million and a further $5 million in bonuses will be awarded for finding relics from past US or Soviet moon missions.
See a gallery showing some of the latest robotic moon rover prototypes
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Private affair
Like the Ansari X Prize for sending a human into space, the lunar contest is meant to stimulate commercial space exploration.
âWhat weâre doing is a proof of concept: that this can be done, and for less than the government would pay for the same kind of mission,â says Fred Bourgeois, head of , a Lunar X Prize competitor based in California.
The Google Lunar X Prize teams span more than 12 countries on three continents. Theyâre led by students, engineers, CEOs and entrepreneurs. Each has different strategies for flying to the moon, driving around once they get there and paying for it all.
Team Frednet has taken an open-source approach, meaning anyone can that is used for all the teamâs business.
âThe power of people collaborating is so much bigger than [that of] a small company hiring people to do the job,â Bourgeois says. âYou canât get the same calibre of people that you can by finding people who are really interested in it.â (See an image of Team Frednetâs âhamster ballâ rover prototype).
Other teams, like and the Romanian team , are trying whip up patriotism to give them a boost, although the contestâs rules ban governmental support.
Marketing the moon
Some teams are making technology that will have a use and a market beyond the contest. , based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has its sights set on the Apollo 11 landing site. âWeâre trying to create a robot that makes sense over the longer term so we can be part of the lunar frontier and help open it up,â says David Gump, president of the teamâs parent company, Astrobotic Technology.
Team Astrobotic plans to send its rover to see how the descent stage of the Apollo 11 lunar module looks after 40 years on the moon and so gain insights into how to design future lunar equipment. Astrobotic is also the only team so far to publicly set a launch date: 8 May 2011. (See an image of their rover prototype).
Most teams are relying on, or hoping for, private investment. But not , which is offering to take donorsâ DNA to the moon for $10,000.
has a similar idea. It was founded a year before the X Prize competition and its leader Bob Richards says it aims to be âa FedEx to the moonâ. He hopes people will pay to deliver things to the dusty lunar surface and expects consignments of plants and even . (See Odyssey Moonâs prototype hopper).
Geeky business
âFor us itâs all about building a business case,â Richards told 51¶ŻÂț. âWeâre pleased and proud to be the first registered team in the competition, but whatâs driving us are the customers.â
Bourgeois also thinks thereâs money to be made from reaching the moonâs surface and plans to have people sponsor images sent back from Team Frednetâs lander. âWouldnât you like to have your name come back as âThis minute of moon video sponsored byâŠâ?â he asks. âItâs just the geek value, you know?â
See a gallery of images showing some of the latest prototypes from competing teams
