No Team Is Ready To Fly And Claim The $20 Million Prize

On March 31, 2018, the window of opportunity to win the Google Lunar XPrize will close, and Google has no plans to again extend the deadline for sending a rover to the Moon.

The Lunar XPrize was established 10 years ago to encourage a private, unmanned mission to the moon. In 2014, Google extended the deadline until March of this year. Four teams, Moon Express, SpaceIL, Synergy Moon and TeamIndus, were named as finalists in the competition. But the team that is closest to actually launching a mission to the Moon, SpaceIL, might not launch until late this year, according to a report form Engadget. That means that the prize will go unclaimed.

In a statement, Google said that it is "thrilled with the progress made by these teams over the last ten years." Significant strides have been made in rover technology outside the resources of governments.

What is not clear is how the teams may elect to proceed with their efforts without the $20 million pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Moon Express says that the competition was not its priority, and SpaceIL reported that it is already seeing funding start to dry up. The other two finalists have not made any statement about their status.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report