US firm wins $1m lunar prize
2009-11-04 08:02
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NASA
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Los Angeles - A California-based firm was named winner of a $1m prize backed by US space agency Nasa to design a craft capable of a lunar landing, a statement said on Tuesday.
Masten Space Systems were declared winners of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X-Prize Challenge following a competition in the Mojave Desert last week involving several teams of space entrepreneurs.
Under the terms of the competition, teams had to launch a rocket and then simulate a lunar landing before refueling and returning to lunar orbit.
Entries were required to ascend to a height of 50 metres, before landing safely on a replica lunar surface after a minimum of three minutes flying time.
The X-Prize foundation is also running a competition in conjunction with Google, offering $20m to the first privately funded team that lands a robot on the Moon and transmits image and data back to Earth.
- SAPA