June 5, 2014

To the Moon And Beyond

<iframe width="1001" height="563" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QeW5O6GGOtM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
image by " rel="nofollow ispace inc

Eighteen teams remain active, out of 33 starters, in the quest to win the $30 million " rel="nofollow Google Lunar X-Prize. The challenge is to build the first private spacecraft to land on the Moon, travel 500 m and make two transmissions to Earth, all before the end of 2015. The teams have various depths of expertise and support, including the Israeli " rel="nofollow SpaceIL team which received a $16 million dollar donation from Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino tycoon who usually uses his billions to influence presidential candidates. Perhaps the most clever team promotion comes from the Japanese " rel="nofollow HAKUTO team that produced the video in today's LPOD. The name Hakuto relates to a Japanese fairy tale of a rabbit on the Moon. That country's government lunar program, Kaguya, is also named after a traditional folktale. Perhaps the US use of descriptor names (Ranger, Orbiter and Surveyor) and a Greek mythology name for our premier lunar exploration program (Apollo) reflects a lack of traditional national fairy tales - maybe that is what politics is.

" rel="nofollow Chuck Wood

---