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Two Xprize rivals will share a trip to the Moon
Just because the Google Lunar Xprize is hotly contested doesn't mean that the competitors always have to be at each other's throats. Astrobotic and Hakuto have announced a partnership that will have Hakuto's rovers (Moonraker and Tetris) "piggyback" on Astrobotic's lander when it hopefully reaches the Moon in the second half of 2016. The two sides will still compete when they touch down, but they're setting it up as a race -- during a conference call, Astrobotic noted that it would wait for the other rovers to give them a fair shot and get some extra camera footage. The new allies aren't saying exactly how they'll split the prize if they win, but Hakuto can still get the lion's share.
Lunar Xprize competitors get $5.25 million for reaching key milestones
The Lunar Xprize challenge isn't just meant to reward the first team that lands a private rover on the Moon -- it's there to give some encouragement along the way, too. Accordingly, Google and Xprize have just handed out a total of $5.25 million to five competitors for hitting milestones in imaging, mobility and landing technology. Astrobotic Technology is the big winner, having scooped up $1.75 million across all three areas. Not that the others are exactly hurting. Hakuto, Moon Express, Part-Time Scientists and Team Indus all snagged between $500,000 to $1.25 million each.
A Tour of Astrobotic Technology's lunar rover lab at Carnegie Mellon (video)
Things are buzzing late Monday afternoon at Carnegie Mellon's Planetary Robotics Lab Highbay. Outside, in front of the garage door-like entrance, a trio of men fills up a kiddie pool with a garden hose. Just to their left, an Enterprise rent-a-truck backs up and a handful of students raise two metal ramps up to its rear in order to drive a flashy rover up inside. I ask our guide, Jason Calaiaro, what the vehicle's final destination is. "NASA," he answers, simply. "We have a great relationship with NASA, and they help us test things." Calaiaro is the CIO of Astrobotic Technology, an offshoot of the school that was founded a few years back, thanks to Google's Lunar X Prize announcement. And while none of the handful of vehicles the former student showcases were made specifically with the government space agency in mind, given the company's history of contractual work, we could well see them receive the NASA stamp of approval in the future. Asked to take us through the project, Calaiaro tells us, quite confidently, that the trio of vehicles behind us are set to "land on the moon in 2015," an ambitious goal set to occur exactly three weeks from last Friday.%Gallery-168976%
Polaris rover will travel to the Moon in search of polar resources, try to survive the long lunar night
The Polaris rover may look a little punk rock, but that mohawk is no fashion statement. It's for catching solar rays which shine almost horizontally at the Moon's north pole, a location Polaris is due to explore before 2016. Built by Astrobotic Technology, it'll be ferried aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to our celestial companion, where it'll drill into the surface in search of ice. The company, spun out of the Carnegie Mellon University, hopes to identify resources at a depth of up to four feet that could be used to support manned Moon expeditions in the future. The plan is to complete the mission during a 10-day window of sunlight, digging at up to 100 sites over a three-mile stretch. However, if it can live through the harsh two-week-long nights, then it may continue to operate "indefinitely." NASA is backing the project, providing ice-prospecting gear and money, although Astrobotic hopes to get more cash for its work -- over $20 million from Google's Lunar X Prize. Right now, Polaris is a flight prototype and there are still improvements to be made, mainly on the software side, before it tackles the rough terrain. Check out the short video of its public unveiling below, although we don't think the soundtrack quite matches the hairdo.
