GLXP Team Has 20 Days Left To Raise US$100,000 So They Can Build 200-Square Meter Area To Test Their Asimov Rover Against Harsh Lunar Conditions; Donors Of $12-15 Will Have Opportunity To Remotely Test Drive Rover On Test Site, $500 Donors Receive Build-Yourself Prototype Rover Kit, $7500 Donors Get Pre-Assembled Rover Which Can Be Piloted By Smart Phone App
Image Credit: Part-Time Scientists
Team Phoenicia Agrees With Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems LLC & Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo To Collaborate On Lunar & Interplanetary Small Satellite Launch Opportunities; Cal Poly / Tyvak Will Utilize Team Phoenicia Excess Launch Capacity On GLXP & Future Lunar Missions; With Projected Costs Between US$5-10M, First Interplanetary NanoSat Missions Could Spark Revolution With Hundreds Of Missions To Moon, Asteroids, Mars & Beyond
Image Credit: Team Phoenicia, Tyvak, CalPoly, NASA
Florida-Based GLXP Team Opens Campaign On Kickstarter.com, Raising Funds To Purchase 4-Axis CNC Milling Machine; Rewards Offered To Backers Include 3D Printed Models Of Lunar Rover (US$150 Donation), Opportunity For Individuals To Fly DNA To Moon (US$10K Donation); Parent Company Earthrise Space Inc. Offers Students Opportunity To Design, Build, Test Real Spacecraft; Omega Envoy 1 Of 6 Teams Selected For US$10M NASA ILDD Contract
Image Credit: Omega Envoy, Earthrise Space Inc.
Moon Express Acquires Team Next Giant Leap; Plans To Carry Forward Work Done By NGL Corporate Partners Sierra Nevada Corp, Draper Lab, MIT, eSpace, Challenger Center; Astronaut / MIT Professor Jeffrey Hoffman Praises Talented Team Composed By ME Co-Founder Bob Richards; Alex Hall Expects Further Mergers / Dropouts This Year; SpaceX Launch Success Brings Hope To Astrobotic
Image Credit: GLXP, SpaceX, Moon Express, Namco
Autonomous Navigation, Ultra-Fast Graphical Processing Units Among Technologies GLXP Team Part-Time Scientists Hope To Advance With Lunar Mission NET 2014; Landing Vehicle & ‘Asimov’ Rover To Touch Down Near Apollo 17 Site; Autonomous Navigation System Developed In Tandem With German Aerospace Center Uses Stereo Camera To Generate 2.5-Dimensional Model Of Surroundings
Image Credit: cnet.com, Part-Time Scientists
Team Displays Early Prototypes Of Descent Vehicle & Rover At Bay Area Maker Faire In CA; Phoenicia Planning To Do Much Development Of Flight Hardware In-House; Has Plans For 2014 Launch As Secondary Payload With SpaceX; Already Raised Over US$5M For Lunar South Pole Mission; Currently Listed In 3rd Place In Unofficial Evadot Scorecard; Potential Collaborators On Human Moon Mission
Image Credit: Team Phoenicia, pcworld.com
Falcon 9 Advancing Towards ISS Cargo / Crew Transportation Capacity; Next Step For SpaceX Is Lunar Transportation: Many GLXP Teams Looking At Falcon As Likely Launch Vehicle, Astrobotic Technology Has Launch Contract With SpaceX, GLXP Teams Receive US$2M If Launch From FL, SpaceX Offering 10% Discount To GLXP Teams; Falcon 9 Does Not Require Modifications To Reach Lunar Orbit
Image Credit: GLXP, Astrobotic Technology
Image Credit: NASA, GLXP, Team Puli
4 GLXP Teams Present Their Plans To, Invite Science Payloads From, 170 Lunar Scientists At Recent European Lunar Symposium In Berlin; Puli, AMALIA, FREDNET, Synergy Moon Among 11 GLXP Teams With Significant European Involvement; Radio Antennae, X-Ray Spectroscopes Among Payload Concepts Proposed During Highly Successful Session
Image Credit: NASA, Planetary Resources Inc, Astrobotic Technology Inc
New Wave Of Interest In Lunar / Asteroid Mining Peaking With Announcement Of Billionaire-Backed Planetary Resources Inc., Developing Plans Of Moon Express & Astrobotic Technology; Craig Covault Notes Importance Of LRO High Resolution Mapping Capabilities To Prepare For Future Human-Tended Robotic Surface Mining Operations; LRO Orbiting At Altitude Of 24-29km
Image Credit: Rocket City Space Pioneers
Rocket City Space Pioneers Team Leader Tim Pickens Gives Candid Report On Mission Progress At Space Access ’12 Conference; Falcon 9 Launch Reserved, Lander Development Projects Advancing; Funding Is Main Challenge, Ride-Share Model To Share Cost With Other SmallSats Yielding Minimal Success; Cooperating With Another Team Is Option; Time Running Out For 2015 Deadlines