Google is backing private moon landing contest

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6993373.stm

by jkush • 19 years ago

13 14 19 years ago

news.bbc.co.uk

youngnh• 19 years ago

heh, I'd like to see Anybot's Dexter bounding around on the moon. "One small step for man..."

ivankirigin5• 19 years ago

Awesome. But it costs much more than that to do a soft landing on the moon.

The heat differential from night to day is the hardest engineering part. The launcher from earth is just a matter of money.

jkush• 19 years ago

From: http://www.solarviews.com/eng/moon.htm

Mean surface temperature (day) 224.6 F Mean surface temperature (night) -243.4 F

Brutal!

HiggsBoson3• 19 years ago

> The heat differential from night to day is the hardest engineering part.

Well, aside from getting a significant payload into orbit. ... and getting it to the moon ... and landing it ... and moving around

... and navigating the regulatory maze so you can: ... store, work with, and transport hazardous propellants ... actually do engine tests ... actually do test launches ... transport your test or launch stack across national borders

So, no, not really.

ivankirigin5• 19 years ago

I said it was the hardest, not the only hard part. You didn't say why other things are harder.

jsmcgd• 19 years ago

Prize money isn't intended to finance people's efforts. Its merely an incentive.

jraines2• 19 years ago

Why is every google story starting to sound like a segment from one of those documentaries about a lottery winner who blows it all?

ivankirigin5• 19 years ago

$30M prize that probably won't get paid till 2012? This doesn't sound like an expensive PR stunt.

mechanical_fish• 19 years ago

Particularly when you consider that:

a) Most likely nobody will be able to claim the prize.

b) $30M is like a rounding error to Google.

c) Google will make $30M in ad revenue in the first two hours after they put up live HD movies from the moon.

ivankirigin5• 19 years ago

More info here: http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-10/ff_moon

Google is backing private moon landing contest

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