Progress Continues To Be Made To Return Humanity To The Moon

XPRIZE and Google have officially confirmed a further extension of the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE.

XPRIZE notes that they continue to see substantial progress from their teams, and after months of discussion, they have decided to provide additional time for teams to plan and make arrangements for a future launch. Securing an available window with a launch provider is a calculated logistical process that can be many months in the making, in some cases more than a year, so an extended schedule will benefit the teams a great deal as they move towards taking the next step in the competition.

Here is a snapshot of the revised timeline:

• At least one team must provide XPRIZE and Google with notification of a launch contract by December 31, 2015 for the competition to be extended until December 31, 2017.
   
• If at least one team provides notification of a launch contract by December 31, 2015, all of the other remaining teams will have until December 31, 2016 to also provide notification of a launch contract, in order to move forward in the competition.
   
• If no team has provided XPRIZE and Google with notification of launch contract by December 31, 2015, the competition will conclude.

  

According to XPRIZE:, "The Google Lunar XPRIZE is an unprecedented competition, challenging teams to accomplish a feat that has never been achieved—the safe landing of a private craft on the lunar surface that travels at least 500 meters and transmits high-definition video and imagery back to Earth. We are consistently impressed with the technical expertise, collaboration and enthusiasm exhibited by our teams. It goes without saying that space exploration comes with a myriad of challenges, and the mission we are asking teams to accomplish is an extremely difficult one. It is for this primary reason that we have decided to extend the competition timeline. We look forward to the awarding of this important prize and firmly believe that a whole new economy around low-cost access to the moon will ultimately be the result."

FMI: www.xprize.org