Google promotes space race ‘Google Lunar X Prize’
Posted by Manuela Barreto @ June 23rd, 2008 in Media News
This time its for real. No more pranks or April Fool’s jokes of the sort. Google is launching a space race open to enthusiasts worth $20million. The space race is known as Google Lunar X Prize; and its quest is for a privately funded team to develop its own robot, send the robot off into space, make it travel for 500mts. on the surface and send it back to Earth with pictures and videos.
Its impressive how much we have evolved since 1969 when Neil Armstrong was the first human being to set foot on the moon and launching a rocket into space was a major odyssey. Now people are doing all sorts of things with the whole ‘moon theme’. Virgin Galactic is one and now Google is experimenting with this new competition, one which must not have any governmental involvement whatsoever.
Google is giving absolutely anyone and everyone; scientists, students, engineers, businessmen, the opportunity to explore space and inspire new discoveries that could shift humankind. So far there’s 14 teams with different ideas and models of reaching the moon. It is entirely up to them to decide the best and most efficient strategy to hit the white powdery surface- what counts is that they come back safe and sound. Of course, finding the right sponsors to raise the millions needed for the mission also counts- big time.
The idea was a creation between X Prize Chairman, Peter Diamandis and Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page. X Prize is the foundation which was inspirational for this race; its a $10 million+ award given to the team which fulfills its goal encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.
One curious fact, Celestis, a company which spreads cremated human remains into space, has recently agreed to partner up with two of the teams to work together into carrying human ashes to the moon, for those whose wishes are to rest in ‘absolute’ peace.
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