Tag: Google Lunar X Prize
-
Israeli lunar lander passes tests in preparation for SpaceX launch to the moon
SpaceIL’s Beresheet lunar lander is suspended at a payload processing facility in Florida. (SpaceIL Photo via Twitter) The managers of Israel’s first mission to the moon say their lunar lander has passed a crucial set of tests in preparation for February’s launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with an assist from a Seattle space…
-
To the moon? Israel’s SpaceIL says SpaceX will launch team’s lunar lander this year
News Brief: SpaceIL, an Israeli team that was once a competitor in the now-defunct Google Lunar X Prize, says it will have its lander launched toward the moon in December. The lander will be a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket taking off from Florida, the team said today in a news release. The plan…
-
Want to sponsor a race to the moon? XPRIZE resurrects lunar landing challenge
Moon Express’ MX-1E settles on the lunar surface. (Moon Express Illustration) Less than a week after the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize officially expired, its organizers say they’re relaunching it as a non-cash competition to put a privately funded lander on the moon. They’re also looking for a new sponsor to lend its name,…
-
Organizers confirm no teams will win Google Lunar X Prize
Artist’s concept of a privately-developed lunar lander designed by the Israeli team SpaceIL. Credit: SpaceIL None of the teams who have spent the last decade chasing a $20 million grand prize by placing a privately-funded lander on the moon will meet a deadline at the end of March to claim the award, the organizers of…
-
XPRIZE confirms no one will win Google’s millions for commercial moon landing
A prototype moon rover makes an appearance at the 2007 kickoff of the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition. (XPRIZE Photo) The organizers for the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize competition acknowledged today that the award for a commercially funded lunar landing will go unwon, despite a decade’s worth of work. But the California-based XPRIZE foundation’s…
-
Moon ambitions get a reality check — plus a boost from Apollo moonshot memories
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander. (Blue Origin Illustration) Update for 10:54 a.m. PT Jan. 23: The managers of the Google Lunar X Prize competition acknowledge that the prize will go unwon. Previously: Who’s going to the moon? The prospects are looking dimmer for any commercial lunar landings in the short…
-
Google Lunar XPRIZE teams get more time and more cash incentives for moon shots
A prototype moon rover makes an appearance at the 2007 kickoff of the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition. (XPRIZE Photo) The Google Lunar XPRIZE finalists now have $4.75 million more to shoot for with the moon missions they’re planning, and more time to shoot for the moon as well. The competition was set up a decade…
-
United Launch Alliance agrees to deliver Astrobotic’s lander to the moon in 2019
An artist’s conception shows the Peregrine lunar lander on the moon’s surface. (Astrobotic Photo) In two years, it will be the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, and Astrobotic Technology wants to celebrate by going back — this time sending their robotic Peregrine lunar lander. The former Google Lunar XPRIZE contender today announced…
-
Google Lunar X Prize clears five teams for moon race and pays out $1 million
An artist’s conception shows SpaceIL’s lander on the moon. (SpaceIL Illustration) The organizers of the Google Lunar X Prize competition confirmed that five teams have been cleared to go after the $20 million grand prize, and doled out a total of $1 million to all 16 teams that entered. These five teams previously reported that…
-
Moon Express reportedly has the money for moonshot – but launch is up in the air
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ lander extending its robotic arm to take a “selfie” of the spacecraft on the lunar surface with Earth in the background. (Credit: Moon Express) An executive at Moon Express has been widely quoted as saying his company has reached its funding goal for this year’s planned commercial mission to the…