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Astrobotic Technology has just booked a ticket to the moon and has possibly clinched a multi-million dollar prize.
The Pittsburgh-based company has secured a spot on rocket company SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on a journey to the moon that could take place as early as 2013. Astrobotic Technology is one of 21 teams involved in a race to land a privately-owned rover on the moon, a competition with $32 million in prize money at stake.
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Backed by Google, the race is known as The Google Lunar X Prize and offers “a $20 million grand prize for the first privately-owned team to land a rover on the moon before Dec. 31, 2015, travel one-third of a mile on the surface of the moon, and transmit high-definition pictures and video back to Earth,” according to Discovery News.
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It’s not clear exactly how much money Astrobotic Technology spent on the SpaceX moon trip, though listed prices start at $49.9 million. Luckily, they’re offering a special discount for Google Lunar X Prize competitors so at least Astrobotic had 10 percent off. (via Discovery News)