Category Archives: Google Lunar XPRIZE

Friday / 2 September 2016

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Team Synergy Moon Launch With Interorbital Receives Official Verification By GLXP

LED-9-1-2016

The Announcement Out Of Los Angeles CA Verifies The Launch Agreement Between Synergy Moon And Team Member Interorbital Systems; Utilizes NEPTUNE 8 Rocket To Lift Off From Open-Ocean Platform Off California Coast During 2nd Half Of 2017; It Is The 3rd GLXP Team To Receive Launch Verification After SpaceIL (Via SpaceX – Falcon 9) And Moon Express (Via Rocket Lab – Electron); Synergy Moon Co-founders Are Kevin Myrick (USA) & Nebojša Stanojević (Bosnia And Herzegovina), Team Includes Randa & Roderick Milliron, As Well As Individuals And Working Groups In More Than 15 Countries

Credit: Synergy Moon, Interorbital

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 5-8 Aug 2016

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Parabolic Arc Poll:
Will Anyone Win the Google Lunar XPrize?

LED-8-5-2016

Even With Moon Rising Again As A Prime Focus Of National Space Agencies Doubts Are Being Cast On Whether Any Of GLXP Teams Are Adequately Positioned To Complete The Mission By 31 Dec 2017; Doug Messier’s Poll Of Readers (Still Open) Shows 52% No, 36% Yes, 12% Don’t Care; Commentary Overviews Many Challenges, Lack / Slow Pace Of Demonstrable Progress; Thomas Matula Notes That If Google Had Instead Directly Funded ILO From Beginning, The Mission Would Already Have Been Completed, Probably Beating China’s Dec 2013 Landing

Credit: Parabolic Arc, GLXP

Wednesday / 27 July 2016

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GLXP Team PTS Lands In UAE To Scout Rover Test Sites

LED-7-26-16

CEO Robert Boehme Of Part-Time Scientists Is In United Arab Emirates To Search For Extreme Environmental Conditions & Soft Sand Inclines To Test 35kg Rover; Rub’ al Khali (The Empty Quarter) Is Largest Contiguous Sand Desert On Earth, Hyper-Arid With Typical Annual Rainfall <3cm And Temperatures Up To 51°C (124°F); With 35 Fixed Staff In Berlin, Germany & 70 Contributing Members Across 3 Continents Team PTS Has Won US$750K In Milestone Prizes So Far & Is Building Significant Industrial And Academic Partnerships; Total Venture Cost About US$35M

Credit: PTS, D. Johnson / The National, D. Yoder, National Geographic

Thursday / 14 July 2016

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GLXP: Moon Express Expanding To LC 17 & 18 At Cape Canaveral; SpaceIL Testing Engine

LED-7-13-16

Moon Express Announces Agreement To License Historic Launch Complexes (LC) For Lunar Lander Development, Test Operations From USAF 45th Wing; State Of Florida Has Approved Up To US$1.85M In Matching Funds Toward Improving Facilities; Press Release Projects 25-50 New Jobs Enabled Immediately, 100s More Direct & Indirect Jobs Possible Over Next 5 Years; LC 17 Dormant Since Sep 2011 GRAIL Moon Launch; Israel Team SpaceIL Recently Tested Lunar Lander Main Engine At Facilities In England; Successfully Met Durability Requirements During Multiple Operation Modes, Shutdown Cycles Without Overheating

Credit: ME, SpaceIL, GLXP, USAF

Friday / 1 July 2016

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GLXP Team Indus Offering Public Project Ride To Moon, Astrobotic Selects New Mission Director

Team Indus

From 28 Jun – 30 Aug Young Adults Ages 14-25 Able To Register Via Lab2Moon For Their Experiment To Fly On Team Indus Craft To Moon Surface 2017; Project Should Fit Inside 330-ml Can, Weigh Less Than 250-grams & “Catalyse The Evolution Of Mankind As A Sustainable Multi-Planetary Species”; Winner Announced 26 Jan 2017, Selection Jury Will Include Dr. K. Kasturirangan (BR), Former Chairman Of ISRO; Team Indus With 85 Engineers & 15 Former ISRO Scientists Hoping For Subsidized ISRO Launch; Astrobotic Announces Sharad Bhaskaran (BL) As New Lunar Mission Director   

Credit: Team Indus, GLXP, Lab2Moon, Cairo University, IEEE, Astrobotic, NASA

Thursday / 16 June 2016

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GLXP Teams Flying Under The Radar Continue To Make Headway

GLXP 6,2016

With 16 Teams From 13 Countries Remaining – Malaysia Team Independence-X Working On SQUALL Lander & BLIZZARD Rover Featuring Continuous Track Propulsion & Able To Fit Into 1.5U CubeSat; Croatia, Australia Team STELLAR Developing 4-Wheeled Rover With Support From 6 Companies & 14 Team Members, Produces Video Of Lunar Vision; Italy Team Italia With Expert Help From Thales Alenia Space & Polytechnic University Of Turin Furthering AMALIA Lander & ~10-kg Rover; Canada Team Plan B Supported By More Than 39 Volunteers Is Advancing 4-kg 2-Wheel Rover & Landing System

Credit: GLXP, Team Independence-X, Team STELLAR, Team Italia, Team Plan B

Friday / 3 June 2016

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Astrobotic Signs More Partners For Lunar Lander Development, Payload Delivery Services

Astrobotic Lunar Delivery

Astrobotic CEO John Thornton Unveils New ~1.5-meter Tall Peregrine Lander, New Partners DHL & Airbus Defence And Space, Adding To Existing Support From Aerojet Rocketdyne & NASA CATALYST Program; Astrobotic Stacking Up Contracts & Agreements For Lunar Delivery (US$1.2M/kg To Surface) Including GLXP Teams AngelicvM & Hakuto (With 2 Rovers), Payloads From Mexican Space Agency, DLR, Astroscale, Lunar Mission One, Elysium Space, Carnegie Mellon University & Celestis, Stating “Launch Procured From SpaceX” Q4 2017 To Lacus Mortis Without Verified Launch Contract As Of Yet

Credit: Astrobotic, AngelicM, Hakuto, AEM, Elysium, CMU, LM1, DLR, Celestis, Astroscale, GLXP

Thursday / 26 May 2016

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India #Million2Moon Campaign Backs GLXP Team Indus

LED-5-25-16

Crowdfunding By Axiom Research Labs / Team Indus Offers: ~US$7.50 NAME2MOON And ~$150 ADDA2MOON (For Groups Of Up To 20 People); Custom Inscriptions To Be Made On Both The Mega-Million2Moon Cube (2m) For Display In Jakkur, India And The Micro-Million2Moon Cube (7.62cm) To Fly On Team Indus Spacecraft; All Funds Raised Go Toward Launch Costs; Winners Of A Contest Organized By NSS – USA Chapter In India ‘Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Initiatives’ To Have Names Included

Credit: Team Indus, NSS

Friday / 4 March 2016

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GLXP ‘Moon Shot’ Documentary To Air,
X PRIZE Plans Successor To GLXP Competition

GLXP 2016

16 GLXP Teams Remain In Race, Moon Express With Verified Rocket Lab Launch Contract And SpaceIL Verified SpaceX Launch Plan For 2017 Moon Missions; J.J. Abrams ‘Moon Shot’ 9 Short Documentary Films On GLXP Teams To Debut For Free March 15 And 17; X Prize Foundation Andrew Barton Discusses 2nd Space-Related Competition Under Development, May Be Announced After Dec 2017 When GLXP Officially Ends

Credit: GLXP, SpaceIL, Moon Express, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot, Epic Digital, et al

Friday / 19 February 2016

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Rocket Lab Secures Another Multi-Launch Contract After Moon Express

Rocket Lab ME

Rocket Lab To Launch 2 Moon Express Missions In 2017, With A 3rd To Be Scheduled, And Possibility To Purchase 4th & 5th; Spire Satellite Company With Offices In Singapore, UK, USA, Recently Contracted 12 Launches With Rocket Lab To Begin 2016-17; Rocket Lab Also Won US$6.9M Contract With NASA; Electron Small Launch Vehicle Under Development, Planning 1st Test Launch Mid-2016 & Constructing 2 Launch Sites In New Zealand, Mahia Peninsula Site To Be Operational Q1 2016

Pictured: (TL) Peter Platzer of Spire; (BL) Bob Richards of Moon Express; (BR) Peter Beck of Rocket Lab.

Credit: Rocket Lab, NASA, Moon Express, Expert File / Peter Beck