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A new non-profit organization partners with Airbus, a billionaire company Jeff Bezos, and Airbus to create a moon-focused rewards program called The Moon Race.
The objective of the contest is to stimulate technologies that can contribute to a sustainable lunar exploration. However, many details are still outstanding, including the exact nature of these technologies and price levels.
The German organizers of the project anticipate further revelations next year, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the historic landing of the Apollo 11. By then, they plan to detail the details in collaboration with Blue Origin and Airbus, as well as with the European Space Agency, the Mexican Space Agency and Vinci Construction.
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "" We are delighted to be part of an international collaboration for to establish a lasting presence on the moon ", Blue Origin said in a tweet about the project. "Blue Moon and New Glenn will help us get back to the moon and stay this time." "Data-reactid =" 25 ">" We are delighted to be part of an international collaboration to establish a presence sustained on the moon ", blue origin said in a tweet about the project. "Blue Moon and New Glenn will help us return to the moon, and this time to stay."
Blue Moon is Blue Origin's program to develop a lunar lander, while New Glenn is an orbital class rocket that could be used to send payloads to the lunar surface.
The five-year calendar for The Moon Race is Blue Origin's development schedule. Blue Origin's executives have said the Blue Moon LG could be up and running by 2023, when The Moon Race organizers plan to send winning charges to the moon.
The organizers launched their efforts at this week's International Astronautical Congress in Bremen, Germany. They want teams to propose technological challenges for lunar surface operations in time for next year's IAC meeting.
Suggestions could include the construction of the first artifact made from lunar resources, extracting enough water from the lunar floor to fill a standard size bottle, constructing a generator system. 39 energy able to illuminate the lunar night or the operation of the first lunar greenhouse.
The application period is expected to open in early 2019. "The details of the cash prizes will be announced at the opening of the application period," the organizers said.
A rough schedule requires demonstrating proof of concept applications in 2020, testing technologies in a lunar environment between 2021 and 2022, earning monetary rewards, and traveling to the moon between 2023 and 2024.
This effort is reminiscent of the $ 30-million Google Lunar X prize, offered as of 2007 to teams aiming to place landers on the surface of the moon. Some milestone payments were provided to the teams, but no one has respected the deadline this year to win the grand prize.
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