The X PRIZE Foundation
(XPF) is moving forward with plans to offer a $2 million Lunar
Lander Challenge (LLC) by releasing draft rules of the competition,
making them available for public comment.
The LLC was originally introduced in a Letter of Intent executed
between XPF and NASA's Centennial Challenges manager, Brant
Sponberg, at the 2005 X PRIZE Cup. It is planned that the challenge
will take place at this year's X PRIZE CUP event on October 21-22,
2006 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The LLC will require a rocket capable of vertical takeoff and
vertical landing to fly from one pad to another and back. The LLC
is broken into two difficulty levels to maximize the interest from
potential competitors while still resulting in the development of
vehicles that are of value to NASA.
Any portion of the total prize money that is not won in the 2006
competition will be up for grabs at future X PRIZE CUP events.
Rules will also be designed so that the energy required for any
winning flight is matched up with an actual lunar flight. The Lunar
Lander Challenge rules will be available for public comment at www.xprize.org
and www.nasa.gov. The
public, as well as, industry professionals and potential teams are
encouraged to provide their ideas and comments by sending email to
LLComment@xprize.org.
At the 2005 X PRIZE CUP in Las Cruces, New Mexico, NASA
Centennial Challenges Manager Brant Sponberg and X PRIZE Chairman
and Founder Peter Diamandis signed a letter of intent to partner on
two new space prizes.
Implementation of this
collaboration was contingent upon NASA obtaining necessary
statutory authority for prizes, inclusion of necessary resources in
the Centennial Challenges budget to fund the purses, and final
negotiation and execution of an agreement between NASA and XPF.
NASA's Centennial Challenges promotes technical innovation
through a novel program of prize competitions. It is designed to
tap the nation's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to
support the Vision for Space Exploration and NASA goals. NASA's
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate manages the program.
On October 4, 2004, the Ansari X PRIZE proved that offering a
prize for a radical breakthrough in research and development is an
extremely effective catalyst towards accelerating technological
growth. Based on that success, the X PRIZE Foundation is now widely
recognized as the premiere prize institute in the world. In
addition to offering more prizes in the space industry, the X PRIZE
Foundation is now looking at inspiring innovation in areas such as
medicine, education and energy.