Accessibility links
Google's Goal: Inspire First Privately Funded Moon Landing As 29 teams worldwide are compete in the Google Lunar X Prize, they're trying to build robots that could reach the moon by the end of 2015, roam around the moon's surface, and send photos and videos back to earth. Why is Google offering $30 million in prizes to winners, what rules must be followed, and have rivalries formed? Guest host Allison Keyes speaks with the X Prize Foundation's founder.

Space

Google's Goal: Inspire First Privately Funded Moon Landing

Heard on Tell Me More

NPR Staff

Google's Goal: Inspire First Privately Funded Moon Landing

Listen · 7:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/139536084/139536073" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Enlarge this image

While orbiting the moon, Apollo 8 astronauts were greeted by this view of the rising earth. Today, competitors in the Google Lunar X PRIZE are trying to build robots that could reach the moon by the end of 2015. NASA hide caption

toggle caption
NASA

While orbiting the moon, Apollo 8 astronauts were greeted by this view of the rising earth. Today, competitors in the Google Lunar X PRIZE are trying to build robots that could reach the moon by the end of 2015.

NASA

Moon 2.0: Join the Revolution

YouTube

As 29 teams worldwide are compete in the Google Lunar X Prize, they're trying to build robots that could reach the moon by the end of 2015, roam around the moon's surface, and send photos and videos back to earth. Why is Google offering $30 million in prizes to winners, what rules must be followed, and have rivalries formed? Guest host Allison Keyes speaks with the X Prize Foundation's founder.