Back to the Future

NASA is ready to put people on the moon (again) in the next decade. To that end, the organization has collaborated with the X Prize Foundation to offer a prize for a new kind of lunar vehicle.

Teams are now invited to compete for the Lunar Lander Challenge, MSNBC and The Guardian reported today. Prizes totaling $2.5 million will be awarded teams who can simulate trips between the moon and low lunar orbit.

Level 1 requires a craft to take off from a designated launch area, rocket up to 150 feet altitude, hover for 90 seconds, and land precisely on a landing pad 100 meters away. Level 2 ups the ante to a 180-second hover period and a landing on a rocky, simulated lunar surface. Demonstrations are planned for the 2006 X Prize Cup, October 18-21 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Read more on MSNBC: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12638904/
Read more in The Gudardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1768276,00.html
Learn more about attending the X Prize Cup: http://www.xpcup.com/index.cfm?goto=2006_x_prize_cup.default