Lunar X Prize

Here is the latest from the lunar Googleplex (NYT - A Google Competition, With a Robotic Moon Landing as a Goal):

The return to the moon is part of the Google Lunar X Prize, a competition sponsored by Google with $30 million in prizes for the first two teams to land a robotic rover on the moon and send images and other data back home. At Google’s headquarters here on Thursday, 10 teams from five countries announced their intention to participate in the competition. They include a team led by William L. Whitaker, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and renowned roboticist; an affiliation of four universities and two major aerospace companies in Italy; and one group that is a loose association of engineers coordinating their efforts online.

This is a private effort that I see as a wonderful adjunct to the NASA effort, it can promote space exploration, increase public support and enthusiasm, and inspire new generations of students to study science. Go Google!