German Team Vying For The Google Lunar XPRIZE

Seattle-based Spaceflight has picked up another client in the race to claim the Google Lunar XPRIZE. German contender PT Scientists has reportedly struck a deal with Spaceflight to carry its lander to the moon.

The contract is still subject to verification by XPRIZE. If that occurs, PT Scientists will join three other teams as the top contenders to claim the prize.

The deal was announced by PT Scientists Tuesday and verified by Spaceflight, according to a report from GeekWire. The teams with verified launch contracts to date are Moon Express, Synergy Moon, and SpaceIL, which is also working with Spaceflight.

The news was announced during an online news conference Tuesday, according to SpaceNews. Spaceflight is a broker for secondary payloads, and PT Scientists, and Karsten Becker, head of electronics for PT Scientists, said during the news conference that a Falcon 9 rocket is will most likely be the booster that carries its lander loaded with two rovers into orbit.

PT Scientists and Spaceflight have submitted their proposed launch contract to XPRIZE for verification. Launch contracts must be approved by XPRIZE by December 31 to move to the next phase of the competition.

(Image from file)

FMI: http://lunar.xprize.org/