New X-Prize. Let's get to work !

[afterburner]

irate:

Check out this one. Anybody has 20 tons of AP laying around?

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Google sponsors $30 million moon contest By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer
1 hour, 1 minute ago


LOS ANGELES - Google Inc. is bankrolling a $30 million out-of-this-world prize to the first private company that can safely land a robotic rover on the moon and beam back a gigabyte of images and video to Earth, the Internet search leader said Thursday.

If the competition produces a winner, it would prove a major boon to the emerging private spaceflight industry and mark the first time that a nongovernment entity has flown a lunar space probe.

Google partnered with the X Prize Foundation for the moon challenge, which is open to companies around the world. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit prize institute is best known for hosting the Ansari X Prize contest that led to the first manned private spaceflight in 2004.

The race to the moon won't be easy or cheap. Teams have to raise money to build a roaming spacecraft that will be tough enough to survive a landing and have the smarts to complete a set of tasks. Each rover must also be equipped with high-definition video and still cameras to document the journey.

The rules call for a spacecraft to trek at least 1,312 feet across the lunar surface and return a package of data including self-portraits, panoramic views and near-real time videos. Participants are also responsible for securing a launch vehicle for the probe, either by building it themselves or contracting with an existing rocket company.

Whoever accomplishes the feat by the end of 2012 will receive $20 million. If there is no winner, the purse will drop to $15 million until the end of 2014 when the contest expires. There is also a $5 million second-place prize and $5 million in bonus money to teams that go beyond the minimum requirements.

Details of the Google X Prize are to be revealed at the WIRED Nextfest technology show in Los Angeles.

The competition comes at a time of revived interest in lunar exploration among foreign governments since the Cold War space race. Governments including the United States and those in Europe and Asia are gearing up to return to the moon.

Japan's space agency, JAXA, plans to launch its long-delayed orbiter SELENE from a remote Pacific Island on Friday. NASA next year will rocket a lunar orbiter and impactor, the first of several lunar robotic projects before astronauts are sent to the moon next decade.

Government lunar missions can cost upward of hundreds of millions of dollars, but the X Prize Foundation and Google hope the private sector can do it for considerably less.

The partnership between Google and the X Prize Foundation comes as no surprise. Earlier this year, Google co-founder Larry Page hosted a star-studded charity auction for the foundation at the company's Mountain View headquarters. Page is a trustee of the X Prize Foundation.

Google has had previous forays into space albeit via the Internet by launching Google Mars and Google Earth, Web browser-based mapping tools that give users an up-close, interactive view with the click of a mouse.

The X Prize Foundation is also holding competitions in rapid genetic decoding and creating super-efficient vehicles, but the moon prize is by far the largest in its history since it was founded in 1995. The Google X Prize is second richest space prize, next to the $50 million pot being dangled by hotel magnate Robert Bigelow to any American team that can rocket a manned spacecraft into orbit by 2010.

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On the Net:

Google: https://www.google.com

X Prize Foundation: https://www.xprize.org

 

[jj94]

Wow, I'd really like to see someone successfully win the contest. That would be great news!

 

[powderburner]

I'll pitch in a couple D motors, and some old Cs.....

 

[ben]

Found my new project!!!

 

[diamondspaceguy]

massive massive article here:
https://spacefellowship.com/News/?p=3052

Too much to read for me but enjoying going round the net picking bits up!


eg
About the Prize Purse:
• The $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 the Earth. The Grand Prize is $20 million until December 31st 2012; thereafter it will drop to $15 million until December 31st 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 31st 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 (> 5,000 meters), imaging man made 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.


DSG

 

[eugenefl]

How much do Hollywood studio rental fees go for? That's how they did it the first time right?

For some reason I'm doubtful this will come to fruition. Most of the original X-Prize seemed like hype. Aside from Scaled Composites, did any other team actually ever make an attempt or even come close to an attempt launch date?

 

[heada]

Aside from Scaled Composites, did any other team actually ever make an attempt or even come close to an attempt launch date?

Armadillo Aerospace could have done it in another year or so. XCOR, SpaceX, a few others have/had/will have "soon" systems that could have won the original X-Prize.

-Aaron

 

[eugenefl]

Armadillo Aerospace could have done it in another year or so. XCOR, SpaceX, a few others have/had/will have "soon" systems that could have won the original X-Prize.

-Aaron

So, essentially, after Scaled won they all just gave up? Or was it an investor pullout kind of thing? (i.e. prize money is gone thus no sense in further investment) I would have loved to see the Canadian Arrow launch.

To somewhat head back on track with the thread announcement, do any of the above mentioned companies stand a chance to come out and get back into the competition? $30mil seems like a small amount of money for this task. If you would have asked me to guess a number I would have come up with a ballpark of around $250mil to develop a program capable of accomplishing this particular competition's goal.

 

[pr_rocket04]

$30mil seems like a small amount of money for this task. If you would have asked me to guess a number I would have come up with a ballpark of around $250mil to develop a program capable of accomplishing this particular competition's goal.

Exactly what I'm thinking. I have no idea what it really costs in the ballpark to get something to the moon, but 30 million seems like a joke of a prize. I would imagine the development to cost 30 million on something small. For a team to gamble on a simple chance at being paid back seems to me like it would keep this idea limited to paper only and never to finalize.

I would love to see someone do it, but if you told NASA to get to the moon on $30 million, well, I think we could picture the response.

 

[heada]

So, essentially, after Scaled won they all just gave up? Or was it an investor pullout kind of thing? (i.e. prize money is gone thus no sense in further investment) I would have loved to see the Canadian Arrow launch.

I think the majority of them started to win the prize money and once that was removed, there was no point in continuing. They have all moved on to other projects/prizes. I give Armadillo a 90% chance of winning the Lunar Lander Challenge at XPrizeCup in Oct.

To somewhat head back on track with the thread announcement, do any of the above mentioned companies stand a chance to come out and get back into the competition? $30mil seems like a small amount of money for this task. If you would have asked me to guess a number I would have come up with a ballpark of around $250mil to develop a program capable of accomplishing this particular competition's goal.

As I read somewhere else, there are entire countries with a near unlimited budget that can't do what this prize is asking for. I think Google is fairly safe in their investment.

I think a LOX/Methane multi-stage rocket(similar to one XCOR is making) could do a TLI but that is just getting it there. You still have to do the whole rover part of it. It might be possible if a few companies got together to try.

-Aaron

 

[heada]

Exactly what I'm thinking. I have no idea what it really costs in the ballpark to get something to the moon, but 30 million seems like a joke of a prize. I would imagine the development to cost 30 million on something small. For a team to gamble on a simple chance at being paid back seems to me like it would keep this idea limited to paper only and never to finalize.

I would love to see someone do it, but if you told NASA to get to the moon on $30 million, well, I think we could picture the response.

The original XPrize was for $10M and the costs by Scales (from what I've read and heard) where almost twice that amount. The major reason for trying for that prize wasn't the cash but the fame and contracts that would come along with it. Just like you see with Virgin Galactic.

-Aaron

 

[Pantherjon]

Thats right...Scaled spent close to $30 million dollars on their endeavor(recall reading that number somewhere)..Yeah, the $10 million recouped some, but as Heada says it was mainly for future contracts, etc...Also, Scaled was funded mostly by Paul Allen(microsoft co-founder and gazillionaire)

 

[Gesundheit!]

What kind of transmitter and how powerful would it have to be to broadcast live video images from the Moon?

 

[eugenefl]

Thats right...Scaled spent close to $30 million dollars on their endeavor(recall reading that number somewhere)..Yeah, the $10 million recouped some, but as Heada says it was mainly for future contracts, etc...Also, Scaled was funded mostly by Paul Allen(microsoft co-founder and gazillionaire)

(In reference to the first X-Prize) They must have made those deals beforehand. From browsing competitors' websites during the competition, it looked like to me that all of them were trying to woo some company with a fat wallet. It seems only fair that any good company with business sense would essentially have the contracts in place before investing $30mil to win the competition. The $10mil prize is basically seed money or even a part of the original deal. Virgin must have been in the market to get in with a company that could successfully design and prove a concept that would work reliably. Scaled Composites looked like they easily fit the bill.

Aside from the Cosmos Mariner's appearance, most of the other entries appeared to be too "bluntly" designed. If I'm a paying passenger, the vehicle should at least resemble something that gives me false safety hope. (i.e. SpaceShip One looks safe enough to me, but ride in a homemade rocket? Ugh, nope.) I can't imagine someone paying to ride aboard some of the other designs cobbled together in the empty space of some smaller company's warehouse.

At this point, any attempt to get to the moon, whether successful or not, would be awesome to witness. I suppose the point of the competition - whether anyone actually accomplishes the mission or even tries - is to get people thinking. Even if plans never get beyond paper, it seems the catalyst for change is set in motion by something like this. I'm still a little disappointed Google doesn't offer more in terms of prize money to really get things moving. Heck, they bought YouTube for what - like a billion+ dollars? I bet that $30mil is probably money left over from clerical errors (i.e. - pocket change).

 

[Maagic]

Is that a gig of pics and a gig of video or is it a gig combined? Cuz mine only takes pics, currently

 

[Nerull]

Note that this time they are not required to build their own launcher. The rover can launch an existing rocket, which should significantly reduce the costs. But that'll still take a sizeable chunk of the $20 million they get.

 

[paparoof]

How fortuitous! I was just getting ready to buy RockSim anyway....

 

[Tolppisouth]

Can anyone Rocsim an Estes Mosquito with an "M" motor, mouse trap car (it'll go six times farther right) and a booster vision rig? I think I can maximize my earnings here!

John

 

[Pyro Pro]

Looks like I'll be putting in a big order to PML...

 

[shrox]

If only I had a sponsor, I could do it!