Posted on Saturday, January 08 2011 @ 12:05 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Just over three years ago Google announced a $30 million Lunar X PRIZE for the first private enterprise to land a working rover on the surface of the Moon. The contest officially closed to new registrations on December 31, 2010, with 20 participating teams. You can check out an overview
at RS Technica.
RCSP was a late entry to the Google Lunar X PRIZE, waiting until last September 7 to announce their registration, but they appear dedicated to make up for their late start with a surplus of experience and institutional support. Team leader Tim Pickens, for example, was the lead propulsion designer for the SpaceShipOne craft which won the inaugural X PRIZE, though many in the space industry known him equally well as the guy who created a rocket-powered pickup truck (complete with "In Thrust We Trust" bumper sticker). Pickens currently heads the propulsion efforts for Dynetics, one of several Huntsville-area groups putting their support behind Rocket City, along with Andrews Aerospace and the University of Alabama at Huntsville.
