Teams Vying For The $30 Million Come Closer To Achieving
Mission
The Isle of Man Government hosted entrepreneurs and innovators
from around the world last week for the 4th annual Google Lunar X
PRIZE Team Summit. The X PRIZE Foundation brought 14 of the 23
teams competing for the $30 million prize to the Isle of Man to
provide updates on mission progress, participate in educational
initiatives with Isle of Man students, and discuss the future of
the competition.
Immediately after the event, William Pomerantz, Senior Director
for Space Prizes at the X PRIZE Foundation, noted that "The
presentations we've seen here on the Isle of Man have made one
thing clear: there is a tremendous amount of activity in this
competition. With teams ranging from student-led groups to open
source organizations to established companies with billions of
dollars in revenue, we've certainly got the right mix of innovators
taking on this challenge. Winning this prize is obviously going to
be extremely difficult-if it weren't, it wouldn't be worthy of an X
PRIZE-but after this session, I'm very confident that we will
indeed award this prize."
Each of the Google Lunar X PRIZE teams is striving to claim a
share of the US $30 million prize purse money by becoming the first
privately funded team to send a robot to the Moon that can travel
500 meters and transmit video, images and data back to the Earth.
With the teams pursuing a wide variety of technical concepts,
organizational structures, and business plans, the annual Team
Summits provide a unique opportunity for teams to share lessons and
to identify areas of common interest in the emerging commercial
lunar exploration industry.
Teams CEOs and technical leaders were also able to meet with
leading industry experts from Barclays Wealth, Cains Law Firm, AON
Global Insurance Managers, and the Futron Corporation as part of
Space Isle's commitment to fostering space industry's "Freedom to
Flourish". Technical tours of Manx Telecom and CVI Melles Griot
were featured in the Summit schedule. The teams also presented
updates on their missions that outlined design and engineering
configurations of their lunar robots.
The Isle of Man's Minister for Economic Development, Allan Bell
MHK, commented, "It was a great honor for the Isle of Man to host
the Google Lunar X PRIZE Team Summit. The Isle of Man's commitment
to 'Freedom to Flourish' has been shown to be successful in the
space sector on the Island. Through its innovative approach to
commercial government relations it has been able to become a
jurisdiction of choice for not just for space but for many
others."
The event was timed to take place during World Space Week, the
world-wide celebration of space exploration's role in the
betterment of the human condition. To further that goal, Summit
attendees visited nearby Ballakermeen High School to speak with
over 100 students from six high schools. The students asked
questions of the team leaders about potential careers in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics, and how they might get
involved in the new era of lunar exploration. Summit attendees also
met with members of the Isle of Man Astronomical Society and with
members of the Space Industry Group.
Tim Craine, Director of the Economic Development Agency of the
Isle of Man said, "This event was a tremendous success for the
Google Lunar X PRIZE people and for the Isle of Man. International
cooperation, such as this, will only enhance the achievements that
these teams undertake to reach the Moon."
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