Sept. 21, 2009 -- Lured by millions of dollars in prize money, teams of private firms aren't waiting for NASA to figure out if, when and how to get back to the moon. They're preparing to go themselves. The first $1 million prize for demonstrating a lunar landing system is due to be awarded at the end of October. The front-runner is Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace, which this month made back-to-back flights of a vehicle named Scorpius. Two other contenders plan to enter the NASA-backed competition before this year's cutoff on Oct. 31. Contestants for the top prize are judged by how long their vehicles fly and how accurately they land on pads 60 meters apart, one of which is built on rock-strewn, pitted terrain intended to resemble the lunar surface. Armadillo won an initial $350,000 prize for a demonstration flight last year, leaving $1.65 million for the competition's main leg and runners-up. The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, with prizes totaling $2 million, is just the opening salvo to a second, richer competition to actually land on the moon. Related Content:
So far, 20 teams have registered to compete in the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize, a competition based on the successful 2004 Ansari X Prize for the first private manned spaceflights. Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne won that $10 million purse and a contract to build suborbital spaceships for a commercial venture by Richard Branson's Virgin Group. "We feel it's absolutely within the capacity of private industry to land on the moon," said William Pomerantz, who oversees the lunar space competitions for the California-base X Prize Foundation. The contests have drawn talent from both established aerospace veterans and newcomers with a history of running successful businesses, a mix that commercial space advocates hope will result in less expensive, more efficient ways to explore and exploit space. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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