Google Lunar X Prize For First Robot on the Moon
	Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 18:09 UTC by steve

Google has teamed up with the X PRIZE Foundation to offer a 20 million dollar prize for the first non-governmental, commercial organization to put a robot on the moon. The Google Lunar X PRIZE is intended to help get lunar exploration started again and open it up to private enterprize. No humans have been on the Moon since 1972. Google hopes putting robots there soon will eventually lead to further human exploration and eventually a permanent base. There is also a 5 million dollar second prize and another 5 million in bonus prizes. To win, a team must "successfully soft land a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon, rove on the lunar surface for a minimum of 500 meters, and transmit a specific set of video, images and data back to the Earth.". If your robot is able to survive a lunar night, cover more than 5,000 meters, image a man-made object (such as Apollo hardware), or discover water ice, you can win one of the bonus prizes. For more see the coverage on Slashdot, the Houston Cronicle, or other news outlets.