SpaeCor News

Its been a while since I’ve last given an update on this exciting space race so I thought it was about time to revisit the Subject.  The Google Lunar Lander Challenge is now officially underway.  The year 2010 was the market for the beginning of the challenge period, so any team has the opportunity to win as early as Tomorrow!  Although we would probably know about any attempts weeks ahead of time.  The teams now have 2 years in order to grab the full 20 million dollar first prize, after that the prize will drop incrementally, The final deadline being the year 2014.   The full list of teams that are competing is available on the Space companies page.

The secrecy of the different teams has tightened up since the competition has officially gotten underway.  The lunar X prize forums have also been shut down, because of so called in adequate ability to manage the forum,  thus most chatter has been cut to a minimum since the start of 2010.   A few teams still stand out as the best possible teams for achieving the challenge in the near future.  These teams include:  Odyssey Moon, Astrobotic, ARCA, and Frednet.   Currently the main challenge for the rest of the teams that sets them behind these ones is launch capabilities.  For Example Odyssey Moon, works closely with NASA and has the intellectual know how working for them.  ARCA has developed a balloon launching system that seems promising,  And the Frednet and Astrobotic,  either have large pocket books or the ability to Raise the funds for a ride on SpaceX’s Commercially driven Launch Systems.

I’m sure its come as a shock to everyone as it has to me. The Moon contains actual liquid water.  Its unbelievable that it took us 40 years to discover water on the moon, but we’ve finally done it. For those of you that are still unaware of the current Moon Situation I will be happy to enlighten you.

A couple weeks ago NASA shot a rocket into the centaur crater, to analyze a debris plume.  The rocket was then followed closely by the satellite LCROSS which would analyze the plume transmit data and ultimately meet the same fate as the rocket.  The study was to discover if the debris that was shot up from the moon contained any form of water. After many weeks later the results were astounding, In the debris they found significant amounts of water, gallons to be exact. This completely counteracts the beliefs that the moon was as dry as a bone. This new discovery is a significant opportunity to the space industry, for those in it and those still looking to become a part of it.


Talks of a moon base went from being, purely distant future to a reality in our lifetimes. I expect that we will have a functioning moon base 10-15 years from now. However it may come as a surprise to you that NASA may not be the ones to do it.   Private enterprises will be at the forefront of this one, because of NASA budget cuts there is no way the United States can do this solely as a governmental exercise. If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own space company now is the time! With the current plans of colonizing the moon there will be many support opportunities to fill in the marketplace, be it from habitat building materials to software equipment there will be opportunities a plenty within the coming years for a budding space company to get its start.

While this poses great opportunities for space companies to get their foot in the door, this discovery is known worldwide, countries  such as China (who has been looking to land on the moon by the year 2020) . I believe we are on the brink of a new world order created by the space race of our time: the race for water on the moon. China has been steadily increasing its presence in space. For Example they’ve even issued statements about creating manned weapons platforms in space. They also stand on being the first country to return to the moon, and this was before water was discovered! This new knowledge can only amplify the situation.

In an effort to maintain space superiority in a world of economic stagnation and limited funding, America has gone so far as to offer joint space operations with China. These talks will occur next year and I just hope we don’t give up to much to a country who has historically been a one way door. Sure China has opened some economic opportunities but it still has a long way to go before it can be trusted with such delicate information. Especially when the country has publicly stated its intentions for a manned weapons platform. Its up to global Space corporations to step up and make sure no one country settles the moon or space for its own advancements.

Well I guess I can add another to my list of reasons to return to the moon. The moon may not be the barren wasteland that the Apollo missions stated it to be those many years ago. Satellite imaging has confirmed the presence of H2O in some form or another on the moon. This is a huge discovery and may very well turn around 40 years of assumptions that the moon is barren.

The water may not be as you may think though. The H2O molecule is believe to be mixed in with the dirt much like in the Arizona desert. Even the most Arid of climates can harbor some form or another of water.


Now that we’ve confirmed water on mars which is a year away we discover water on the moon which is only days! It seems that we have gone about our search for water in the wrong ways when we should have much more extensively looked at the moon. It is interesting though why this is being discovered now what with The Google Lunar X only months away from launching.

You may have heard about a little competition called the Lunar X prize. Well its basically a competition backed by Google where teams from around the world compete to probe the moon and send back HD video content back to earth. The teams have been getting ready for the competition for many years now and its scheduled to begin in the year 2010. In light of the recent water on the moon discovery more media and public attention may be focused on the moon and this competition. Which leads me to wonder if this is only just a publicity stunt. Whatever it may be I think it can only do good for the Lunar X prize, and prove that even a barren wasteland can have an oasis.