Google backs private Moon landing, Google is offering a $30m prize pot to private firms that land a |
Google backs private Moon landing, Google is offering a $30m prize pot to private firms that land a |
Sep 14 2007, 08:02 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 100 Joined: 11-October 04 From: Oxford, UK (Glasgow by birth) Member No.: 101 |
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 -------------------- "There are 10 types of people in the world - those who understand binary code, and those who don't."
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Sep 14 2007, 02:57 PM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
This Google prize is getting a LOT of media attention, so perhaps that's the whole objective. Notice also that they're offering $5M bonuses for visiting "historical sites", which of course would mean Apollo landing sites.
Still...$30M isn't much of an incentive, unless it's meant to help an aspiring company recoup at least some of its development costs. Presumably any company that could pull this off would be "made", though, and perhaps become a prime govt contractor for lunar exploration someday...something like a super MSSS. Doug's right, though; at the end of the day, it's hard to figure out what Google's real angle is in this; they need more publicity like I need more alimony. Do you suppose that they're so rich that true philanthrophy is their core motivation? (Nah...I don't think so either!) EDIT: Horrible thought- Rover lands at Tranquility Base, drives right over Neil's first footprint on the Moon... -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Sep 14 2007, 03:46 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 109 Joined: 20-January 07 From: Milano, ITALY Member No.: 1633 |
Notice also that they're offering $5M bonuses for visiting "historical sites", which of course would mean Apollo landing sites. What about visiting a rover's old buddy, such as a Lunokhod site? Doug's right, though; at the end of the day, it's hard to figure out what Google's real angle is in this; they need more publicity like I need more alimony. Do you suppose that they're so rich that true philanthrophy is their core motivation? (Nah...I don't think so either!) It looks like funding a human orbital flight would have required a lot more money. Paolo Amoroso -------------------- Avventure Planetarie - Blog sulla comunicazione e divulgazione scientifica
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