Two Google XPRIZE teams join forces to land on the Moon

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By Matthew Griffin Space 1st January 2017

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

For the sixteen private teams racing to land a lunar rover on the moon in 2017 achieving the goal is more important than the politics.

Two teams competing for the Google Lunar XPRIZE have decided to join forces and have signed a ride share partnership agreement to get their respective lunar rovers onto the same rocket to the moon in 2017.

Team Indus of India and Team Hakuto of Japan will share a ride to the moon on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, developed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

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“We’re proud to verify Hakuto’s launch agreement and are pleased to see two Google Lunar XPRIZE teams collaborating on this mission to the moon,” said Chanda Gonzales-Mowrer, a senior director at Google Lunar XPRIZE, “the purpose of this prize was, in part, to foster collaboration in the private sector and this is a great demonstration of teams coming together in the next giant leap in space exploration.”

The Lunar XPRIZE is a global competition that pits private organisations against each other to become the first privateers to land on the moon, get their craft to travel 500 meters (1,640 feet), and transmit high definition video and images back to Earth before December 31, 2017. Google is offering a $20 million to the first team to pull it off, $5 million to the second team, and $5 million more to be awarded for a unique scientific achievement, such as visiting an Apollo site.

“The Google Lunar XPRIZE has always pushed us beyond our limits” said Takeshi Hakamada, the team leader of Hakuto, “we will continue to challenge ourselves next year and choose an optimal path to reach the moon.”

They’re facing stiff competition. Israeli Team SpaceIL has already booked its flight on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The American team Moon Express will fly on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket, and the international Team Synergy Moon has secured a ride on the Neptune 8 rocket from Interorbital Systems. It remains to be seen who will achieve liftoff first.

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Getting a ticket to the moon has proven just as difficult as building a lunar rover for many teams – particularly because the cost of a ticket to ride is at least $10 million. German Team Part Time Scientists , who teamed up with Audi recently, have also announced they’ve also secured a rocket, but it has not yet been verified by the XPRIZE committee. Team Indus and Hakuto made that part of the challenge a little easier by booking a rocket flight together.

May the best rover win.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.