MEXICO: A “full-on Formula 1 kind of race” on the surface of the Moon is to be held as soon as next year. Private rovers will fight to grab the Google Lunar XPRIZE of $30 million.
Two companies leading in the competition – the Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and Japanese rover-developer HAKUTO – have agreed to simultaneously release their rovers. The expect both machines to land on the Moon’s surface at the same time.
“Once all the rovers are released and everyone’s turned on and initiated…we’ll line the rovers up, and then the green flag will go up, and the race is on. It’ll be like a full-on Formula One kind of race on the surface of the moon,” John Thornton, head of Astrobotic, told Popular Mechanics.
To win the $30 million prize, the teams must land a rover safely on the Moon, move it 500 meters on the Moon’s surface, and send back a video in HD quality.
Between the two companies, three rovers are being sent to the Moon – Astrobotic’s Andy and HAKUTO’s Moonraker and Tetris. They will be competing against each other, as well as against another 16 teams taking part in the race.
The engineers are comparing the race to NASCAR and Formula 1, though the maximal speed will be much lower. For instance, Andy’s speed is seven inches (17.78 cm) per second.
The rovers will communicate with the spacecraft, which will transmit the data back to the Earth.
The main aim of the rovers is surface exploration and to search for caves that could become bases for humans on the Moon in the future.
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