A Race On The Moon In 2016?

You read that right, the headline wasn’t a lie to lure you in; if everything goes according to plan, we can expect a lunar rover race on Earth’s natural satellite as early as 2016.

Google is currently organizing a competition named the Lunar X PRIZE with the objective of creating a new generation of lunar rovers to explore the Moon. To motivate scientists, an incentive will be given to the first team to drive 500 metres on the Moon: a $30,000,000 check.

Here is where the competitive aspect is interesting: since sending each rover individually would be ridiculously expensive, teams will partner up to send their creations into orbit. So far, at least 3 rovers will be placed in a lander created specifically for the occasion, which will be transported by a Falcon9 rocket built by SpaceX. Negotiations with the other 16 teams are ongoing.

Once the rovers are deployed, they will line up on the starting grid, and the first-ever green flag of a lunar race will be raised. We will be able to watch the (admittedly very slow) race through the eyes of the robots or via the camera placed on the lander.

We can’t wait to see who will stand on the podium at the First Moon Grand Prix!