Google backs private Moon landing, Google is offering a $30m prize pot to private firms that land a Options

[SkyeLab]

FROM: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993373.stm


Firms interested in trying for the prize have until the end of 2012 to mount their Moonshot

Anyone fancy a crack at this?

Cheers

Brian

[cndwrld]

I was at the International Aeronautical Congress conference last week, in India. The X-Prize people did a large presentation there about the prize. They had a Google rep there, too, but the presentation was done by a guy from Ansari X. Most of what was said is on the web site, so I won't repeat it. And I didn't take much in the way of notes, so this is from memory.

I asked if an employee of a large, ponderous, out-of-date giant aerospace organization could volunteer time to the competitors. They said yes, most definitely. You'd just have to document somehow that you worked and didn't get paid in any way.

By last week when I talked to them (Thu, 27 Sept), they had receieved seven team registrations and expected more soon.

It costs $1000 to register your team. And as for the launch costs, they had an official launch 'partner' who would offer discounted launches to the teams that wanted them. I think it was Space-X, and the discount was about 10% off, as I recall.

There was also a group who was offering the use of their ground station for free to all the teams. Located in California, I think. Don't recall the name.

And they seconded the idea expressed earlier in this thread about the money covering the costs. There is no intention that the prize money finance the whole cost. It is indeed meant as an incentive to the winning team. The intention is that the winner (of this or any of their prizes) immediately becomes the leader in their field and can leverage the prize money and prize notoriety into a viable business which provides real returns.