Brian Sargeant
Dr. Nargundkar
Business and Technology
13 September 2007
Google Sponsors 30 Million Dollar Contest To Land Robotic Rover on Moon
An article in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, September 13, 2007, stated that Google announced a new contest for private companies (Associated Press, 2007). The task is to be the first non-government company to land a robotic bot on the moon. Though the whole idea may sound easy to some people with the proper equipment, there is more to this than meets the eye. The robot must be able to send back one gigabyte of information (Associated Press, 2007). This information must be beamed back to earth as high-definition video and still images (Associated Press, 2007). The rules of the contest call for the robotic rover to trek at least 1,312 feet across the lunar surface and return a set of data that includes self-portraits, panoramic views and near-real time videos (Associated Press, 2007). Participants are also responsible for having a rocket to launch their rover with. The private companies can either build it themselves or contract with an existing rocket company (Associated Press, 2007).
The teams that are competing will have until 2012 to complete this task. If the rover is successful than the first place prize is 20 million dollars (Associated Press, 2007). Along with the first place prize of 20 million there will be a second place money purse of 5 million dollars. Google will be partnering with a long time companion, X Prize Foundation (Associated Press, 2007). We have seen Google work together with X Prize in the past. Just earlier this year, Google co-founder Larry Page held a famous charity auction for the foundation at the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. Larry Page is a good friend of the X Prize Foundation (Associated Press, 2007). If the moon rover mission is not complete by the deadline of 2012, than the time period will be extended until 2014. After 2012 the first prize purse drops from 20 million to 15 million, and the whole contest ends in 2014 (Associated Press, 2007).
Google has been known for their previous explorations with space, and they have shown a strong interest with interactive programs. A few years ago Google created Google Earth and Google Moon. These programs can be found on the Internet and allow users to view the world and our moon with the click of a mouse (Associated Press, 2007). I have used Google Earth many times in the past. I personally love the fact that I can see satellite images from outer space. Goolge Earth allowed me to zoom in to such a close level that I could cleary see my street, my house and even the trees in my backyard. These programs will only be getting more technologically advanced in the future and we can only hope to see more as time goes on.
The X Prize Foundation is known for its many contests and grand prize giveaways. The X Prize Foundation is also holding competitions in rapid genetic decoding and creating super-efficient vehicles. The moon prize is by far the largest in its history since it was founded in 1995. The Google X Prize is second-richest space prize, next to the $50 million pot being dangled by hotel magnate Robert Bigelow to any American team that can rocket a manned spacecraft into orbit by 2010 (Associated Press, 2007). The competition will bring a lot of publicity to not only Google, but The X Prize Foundation as well.
Many people have thought or even tried to do an independent spacecraft launch in the past. The thought of having a non-government funded space project is great for our society. These few projects are going to have a huge impact on the future of space travel. It could change the way not only independent companies, but NASA and many other countries view and progress with explorations in outer space. The independent space race would be the new talk all around the world. Everyone would want to be the first person or spacecraft in space without the funds of the government or outside contributors. The race to the moon will not be a cheap or easy project (Associated Press, 2007). The will be many failed attempts and lots of money being spent. But in the end the hard work, dedication, and science put into the project will benefit everyone. There will be many things learned and we citizens will have a better understanding of just how difficult and expensive space travel is. The contest being held has created a new interest in lunar exploration among foreign governments. Not since the Cold War space race has there been so much hype about space travel (Associated Press, 2007). Soon the governments of the United States, Japan, and many European nations will be returning to space. On Friday the Japanese space program JAXA plans to send their long-delayed orbiter, Selene into the stars (Associated Press, 2007). NASA will also be sending an orbiter and impactor to space within the next year. This will pave the way for the next manned rocket to the moon in the next decade (Associated Press, 2007).
Resources
Associated Press, (2007). Google sponsors 30 million dollar contest to land robotic rover on
moon. The Wall Street Journal, Retrieved September 13, 2007, from
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118971098398326536.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news&apl=y
Associated Press, (2007). Google sponsors 30 million dollar contest to land robotic rover on
moon. The Wall Street Journal, Retrieved September 13, 2007, from
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/technology/general/view.bg?articleid=1031304