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http://spacenews.com/google-lunar-x-prize-to-end-without-winner/ The X-Prize foundation has declared that, as previously announced, the schedule will not be extended again. And since none of the five remaining competitors are on track to launch in time to meet the existing March 31st deadline, Google's sponsorship will end and the prize pool will remain unclaimed. Quick summary: - Israel's SpaceIL is still trying to raise US $30 million to pay for its launch, with no clear indication of whether or not they can get it, and if so, when they could get a launch slot. - India's TeamIndus is in the exact same boat: still trying to raise US $35 million to pay for its launch, of which there is no information about if and when it might happen. - Japan's Team Hakuto was slated to fly with TeamIndus, and is 100% dependent on what they do. - US-based Moon Express technically still had the best shot at winning, as their launch is already paid for, and the vehicle (Rocket Lab's Electron) has entered commercial service in time to provide said launch before the deadline. But Moon Express has apparently stated that they don't really care that much anymore, they'd rather focus on their actual business case. Which still involves launching to the Moon on Electron, but later in the year. Think of that what you will, I guess? - International team Synergy Moon decided to bet on Interorbital System's Neptune N36 rocket for their ride to space. In fact, the team went as far as merging with Interorbital Systems. But this rocket has never flown to date. In fact, it has never even been tested. They had planned to test a single-core version, the Neptune N1, in Q4 2017, but missed that date. And it's quite a ways to scale from one core to thirty-six. If this team ever launches at all, it will probably be no earlier than 2019-2020. The X-Prize foundation said that they're considering keeping the competition alive in spirit - by no longer having a prize pool but still potentially awarding winner's honors. They are also open to other sponsors stepping in to replace Google and providing a new prize pool. But this is not a concrete plan, just speculation about possibilities. -
The X-Prize foundation just announced that five teams are cleared to proceed into the final phase of the competition. They earned that right by having a verified launch contract in place by December 31st, 2016. Originally, 29 teams participated. 13 either dropped out or merged with other temas over the course of the competition. Another 11 have now been disqualified for not submitting a launch contract in time for the deadline, which had already been extended several times. However, at least three of the teams not among the final five have announced plans to launch anyway, on their own time - even though they will not be eligible for any part of the $30 million prize pool. The remaining five teams and their launch service providers are, in no particular order: - Moon Express (USA), launching on Electron (Rocket Lab) - SpaceIL (Israel), launching on a rideshare mission brokered by Spaceflight Industries, using a Falcon 9 (SpaceX) - Synergy Moon (International), launching on Neptune 8 (Interorbital Systems) - Team Indus (India), launching on PSLV-XL (Antrix Corp/ISRO) - Team Hakuto (Japan), hitching a ride on the Team Indus spacecraft Interesting to see the wide variety of nationalities and launch vehicles present. Especially interesting are those two launch vehicles (Electron and Neptune 8) that have not even flown yet as of the writing of this post. Will they be operational in time? And will SpaceX's immensely backlogged manifest allow SpaceIL to fly in time? In order to be eligible for any part of the prize pool, a team's spacecraft must lift off no later than December 31st, 2017. Aside from that absolute deadline, the winner is decided by who is first to land and perform the minimum required tasks: soft-land to a complete stop, then travel 500 meters across the surface by any means, then transmit HD video back to Earth. The first team to do this will be awarded $20 million, the second team will get $5 million. The remaining $5 million is split up among various secondary objectives, such as surviving a lunar night, traveling 5 kilometers, or taking pictures/video of manmade objects on the surface (themselves or other competitors excluded).
