It has today been announced that Google Lunar XPrize hopefuls Hakuto and Astrobotic will team up for a 2016 SpaceX launch to the Moon. The Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and Japan-based Hakuto will be a joint payload aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, set to launch from Cape Canaveral in late 2016.
The Hakuto rovers, Tetris and Moonraker, will piggyback on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander to reach the lunar surface. Although in cooperation, the teams will certainly be in competition while on the surface of the Moon. Upon touchdown, the rovers will be released simultaneously. With $20 million at stake, the rovers must travel 500 metres while broadcasting HD footage. The first to do so will win the prize, unless of course one of the other 16 teams still in the running win it first!
The Google Lunar XPrize began back in 2007 as an initiative to get privately-funded robotic spacecraft to the Moon. It initially had a deadline of 2012 to win the grand prize of $20 million, but due to few teams looking even remotely close to launch, the final date was extended to the end of 2016. Just last month it was announced that several teams had won money due to passing milestone goals. Astrobotic won a hefty $1.75 million for their demonstration of rover, imaging and landing systems, while Hakuto won half a million dollars for a successful rover demonstration. Other teams who won large sums of money were India-based Team Indus and the American team of Moon Express, both of whom demonstrated landing technology, therefore winning $1 million.
With 18 teams still left in the competition, the race is on to be the first privately-funded mission to the Moon. DiscoverSpaceToday will be following closely, and I sure hope you will be too!
The Hakuto rovers, Tetris and Moonraker, will piggyback on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander to reach the lunar surface. Although in cooperation, the teams will certainly be in competition while on the surface of the Moon. Upon touchdown, the rovers will be released simultaneously. With $20 million at stake, the rovers must travel 500 metres while broadcasting HD footage. The first to do so will win the prize, unless of course one of the other 16 teams still in the running win it first!
The Google Lunar XPrize began back in 2007 as an initiative to get privately-funded robotic spacecraft to the Moon. It initially had a deadline of 2012 to win the grand prize of $20 million, but due to few teams looking even remotely close to launch, the final date was extended to the end of 2016. Just last month it was announced that several teams had won money due to passing milestone goals. Astrobotic won a hefty $1.75 million for their demonstration of rover, imaging and landing systems, while Hakuto won half a million dollars for a successful rover demonstration. Other teams who won large sums of money were India-based Team Indus and the American team of Moon Express, both of whom demonstrated landing technology, therefore winning $1 million.
With 18 teams still left in the competition, the race is on to be the first privately-funded mission to the Moon. DiscoverSpaceToday will be following closely, and I sure hope you will be too!