In an attempt to “seek novel solutions for mission challenges from non-traditional sources,” according to a press release, NASA has announced yet another public competition, this time to create a lunar landing “analog.” With a $2.5 million prize purse at stake, this is the twelfth such event to be announced in the past year under the space agency’s Centennial Challenge program. This new challenge is co-sponsored by the X Prize foundation, and will be held in October at the X Prize Cup Expo.
According to X Prize, the competition will be divided into two “levels.” Level one, with a $350,000 first place prize, a vehicle to take off, fly to150 feet (50 meters) altitude, and then to hover for 90 seconds before landing precisely on a landing pad 100 meters away. Level two, which stipulates a hover of 180 seconds and a landing on a rocky, simulated moon surface, comes with a $1.25 million first place prize.
This was announced at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles yesterday. Dale Amon has been blogging from that conference over at Samizdata — just keep scrolling.