Internet giant Google
is now giving five robotic teams a hefty amount of $5.25 million to make key advancements on its moon project.
The project known as Lunar XPRIZE
aims to support private companies in reaching the moon. According to Google,
the winner will take home as much as $30 million as a grand prize.
The Google competition grant $30
million to the team who can land a robot on the moon and have it travel at least
500 meters and transmit high-definition footage back to Earth.
Robert K. Weiss,
vice chairman and president of XPRIZE said, “The $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE is
asking 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.”
The five teams competing for the pot money and pride are Astrobotic (United States), Hakuto (Japan),
Moon Express (U.S.), Part-Time Scientists (Germany) and Team Indus (India).
The teams already won the Milestone Prizes set by Google.
“Congratulations to these five talented teams on winning
Milestone Prizes,” Weiss continued. “Thegoal of this unprecedented competition
is to challenge and inspire engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world
to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration and these achievements
represent a pivotal moment in this important journey back to the moon.”
Matt Hirst,
Google’s head of brand partnerships and experiences congratulated the teams
saying, “We would like to congratulate Astrobotic, Hakuto, Moon Express,
Part-Time Scientists and Team Indus on their Milestone Prize Award wins, as
well as the other 13 Google Lunar XPRIZE competitors, all of which continue to
devote tireless dedication to this goal.”
“At Google, we passionately believe in the power of asking
big questions and we are proud to support the efforts of those who push
boundaries in science and society to create a better world,” Hirst said.
No comments:
Post a Comment