NASA Launches Lunar Lander Contest

by Stefanie Olsen ZDNet News, 5 May 2006 NASA is calling on private industry to build next-generation spacecraft that can land on the moon, and it's got $2 million to back up the bid. On Friday, the U.S. space agency announced it has forged a partnership with the X Prize Foundation, an organization that promotes space exploration, to hold the Lunar Lander Analog Challenge. The contest, for development of a vehicle to simulate a landing on the moon, carries $2.5 million in prizes, including NASA's purse. The X Prize Foundation will host and pay for the competition to take place in Las Cruces, N.M., in October, when it puts on its own X Prize Cup. Read more