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The future will take to the skies over New Mexico next month as teams compete in the Lunar Lander Challenge sponsored by NASA under their Centennial Challenges program.
This effort uses prize contests to stimulate creativity and competition in solar system exploration, tapping the talents of non-traditional sources of innovation in academia, industry and the public.
Teams of rocketeers are readying their vehicles for the Lunar Lander Challenge to be held live October 20-21 at the Las Cruces International Airport in southern New Mexico.
The Vertical Lander Challenge (VLC) and Lunar Lander Challenge (LLC) presented by NASA are designed to speed up the commercial development of a vehicle capable of ferrying cargo or humans back and forth between the surface of the Moon and low lunar orbit.
The complete Lunar Lander Challenge purse of $2,500,000 -- NASA’s contribution is $2 million -- is divided into two levels. Level One is worth a total of $500,000. The more difficult Level Two is valued at a sum of $2,000,000.
Degree of difficulty
What has to happen to win prize money in either level?
A rocket-propelled vehicle with an assigned payload must takeoff vertically, climb to a defined altitude, fly for a pre-determined amount of time…then land vertically on a target that is a fixed distance from the liftoff point. After remaining at this location for a period of time, the vehicle must takeoff, fly for the same amount of time, and land again on its original launch pad.
The primary differences between the Vertical Lander Challenge and the Lunar Lander Challenge are the minimum time of flight -- 90 seconds versus 180 seconds -- the surface terrain at the landing sites -- flat compared to rocky -- and the degree of difficulty presented for precision landing.
For both Level One and Level Two, the vehicle has the option to refuel before conducting the required return level to the original starting point.
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This effort uses prize contests to stimulate creativity and competition in solar system exploration, tapping the talents of non-traditional sources of innovation in academia, industry and the public.
Teams of rocketeers are readying their vehicles for the Lunar Lander Challenge to be held live October 20-21 at the Las Cruces International Airport in southern New Mexico.
The Vertical Lander Challenge (VLC) and Lunar Lander Challenge (LLC) presented by NASA are designed to speed up the commercial development of a vehicle capable of ferrying cargo or humans back and forth between the surface of the Moon and low lunar orbit.
The complete Lunar Lander Challenge purse of $2,500,000 -- NASA’s contribution is $2 million -- is divided into two levels. Level One is worth a total of $500,000. The more difficult Level Two is valued at a sum of $2,000,000.
Degree of difficulty
What has to happen to win prize money in either level?
A rocket-propelled vehicle with an assigned payload must takeoff vertically, climb to a defined altitude, fly for a pre-determined amount of time…then land vertically on a target that is a fixed distance from the liftoff point. After remaining at this location for a period of time, the vehicle must takeoff, fly for the same amount of time, and land again on its original launch pad.
The primary differences between the Vertical Lander Challenge and the Lunar Lander Challenge are the minimum time of flight -- 90 seconds versus 180 seconds -- the surface terrain at the landing sites -- flat compared to rocky -- and the degree of difficulty presented for precision landing.
For both Level One and Level Two, the vehicle has the option to refuel before conducting the required return level to the original starting point.
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