Google Lunar XPrize (Photo : www.lunar.xprize.org)
The partnership in the new Google Lunar X Prize between the Team Astrobotic of the United States and Team Hakuto of Japan has been established in pursuit of $30 Million prize to get to the lunar surface at the end of 2016.
According to CNBC, Astrobotic will be carrying a pair of rovers to Moon. It has planned to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket its Google Lunar XPRIZE mission from Cape Canaveral on the second half of 2016. Tetris and Moonraker are the twin rovers of Hakuto and these will piggyback on the Griffin lander of Astrobotic to land on the lunar surface.
In the previous month, the two teams have been rewarded with Google Lunar XPRIZE Milestone Prizes. The team Hakuto received $500 000 due to its technological advancements in the category Mobility. On the other hand, Astrobotic won $1.75 million, as it partners with Carnegie Mellon University for its innovations in the 3 focus areas: Imaging, Mobility and Landing. All throughout the process of judging, the 3 rovers, Andy, Tetris and Moonraker had demonstrated special abilities to move about 500 meters across lunar surface. At the same time, they were able to withstand the extreme moon temperature and its high radiation environment.
The conception of an artist showed the Andy and Griffin lander of Astrobotic rover on the moon, and the team is said to forge the agreement about carrying the Tetris and Moonraker of Hakuto to the moon, including its Andy robot, NBC News reported.
According to the publication, Hakuto and Astrobotic developed a partnership that allows the two teams to share in terms of the flying cost to the moon in 2016's second half.
During the moment, the representatives of GLXP had required that at least 1 team must launch on Dec. 31. The deadline for the prize completion will be exactly a year later, Dec. 31, 2016.
