NASA and X Prize Announce Winners of Lunar Lander Challenge
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WASHINGTON -- NASA will award $1.65 million in prize money Thursday to
a pair of innovative aerospace companies that successfully simulated
landing a spacecraft on the moon and lifting off again.
NASA's Centennial Challenges program will give a $1 million first
prize to Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif., and a $500,000
second prize to Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Tex., for their
Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge flights. The competition was
managed by the X PRIZE Foundation. The Northrop Grumman Corporation
is a commercial sponsor that provided operating funds for the contest
to the X PRIZE Foundation.
An awards ceremony for the winning teams will be held at noon on Nov.
5 in room 2325 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington.
Journalists should contact Sonja Alexander at 202-358-1761 for more
information about the ceremony.
The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge involves building and
flying a rocket-powered vehicle that simulates the flight of a
vehicle on the moon. The lander must take off vertically then travel
horizontally, flying a mission profile designed to demonstrate both
power and control before landing accurately at another spot. The same
vehicle then must take off again, travel horizontally back to its
original takeoff point and land successfully, all within a
two-hour-and-15-minute time period.
The challenge requires exacting control and navigation, as well as
precise control of engine thrust, all done automatically. The
rocket's engine must be started twice in a short time with no ground
servicing other than refueling. This represents the technical
challenges involved in operating a reusable vehicle that could land
on the moon.
The prize purse is divided into first and second prizes for Level 1
and Level 2. Level 1 requires a flight duration of at least 90
seconds on each flight and Level 2 requires a duration of at least
180 seconds. One of the landings for a Level 2 attempt must be made
on a simulated lunar terrain with rocks and craters.
Masten Space Systems met the Level 2 requirements by achieving
accurate landings and captured the first place prize during flights
of their "Xoie" (pronounced "Zoey") vehicle Oct. 30 at the Mojave Air
and Space Port. Masten also claimed a $150,000 prize as part of the
Level 1 competition.
Armadillo Aerospace was the first team to qualify for the Level 2
prize with successful flights of its Scorpius rocket Sept. 12 in
Caddo Mills, Tex. Armadillo placed second in the Level 2 competition,
earning a $500,000 prize.
The average landing accuracy determined which teams would receive
first and second place prizes. The Masten team achieved an average
accuracy of 7.5 inches while Armadillo Aerospace's average accuracy
was 34 inches.
The events of the past two months have brought the four-year Northrop
Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge to a conclusion. All $2 million in
prize money has been awarded.
"The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge has had its intended
impact, with impressive performances by multiple teams representing a
new generation of aerospace entrepreneurs" said Andrew Petro, NASA's
Centennial Challenge program manager at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "These companies have demonstrated reusable vehicles with
rapid turnaround and a surprising degree of precision in flight, and
they have done all this at a much lower cost than many thought
possible."
Four teams had been in pursuit of the 2009 Lunar Lander Challenge
prizes during the competition that opened in July. The BonNova team
dropped out of the competition last week. Unreasonable Rocket, a
father-and-son team from Solana Beach, Calif., conducted flight
attempts during the final days of the competition but did not
complete any qualifying flights.
In the Level 1 competition, Armadillo Aerospace previously claimed the
first place prize of $350,000 in 2008. Masten Space Systems qualified
for the remaining second place prize on Oct. 7, 2009, with an average
landing accuracy of 6.3 inches. Because there were no other
qualifying Level 1 flights this year, the Masten team will receive
the second place prize of $150,000.
NASA's Centennial Challenges program's goals are to drive progress in
aerospace technology that is of value to NASA's missions; encourage
participation of independent teams, individual inventors, student
groups and private companies of all sizes in aerospace research and
development; and find innovative solutions to technical challenges
through competition and cooperation.
The Northop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is one of six Centennial
Challenges managed by NASA's Innovative Partnership Program. The
competition was managed for NASA at no cost to the taxpayer by the X
PRIZE Foundation under a Space Act Agreement. NASA provided all of
the prize funds.
For more information on Centennial Challenges, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/
For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
