Two of the team participating in the Google Lunar XPrize decided to join forces to work together to a journey to the Moon, scheduled for 2016. They’re the American group Astrobotic and the Japanese Hakuto, which a few weeks ago were among the winners of the Milestone Prizes, the intermediate awards in the competition. The two teams will share the cost of a journey that will begin atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and also the possible final prize they might win.
Astrobotic Technology Inc. is a Pittsburgh-based company that offers space robotic products, services. It was created in 2008 at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute and keeps on collaborating with it on the development of its lunar robot (Prototype photo 90.5 WESA). It’s also working in the emerging field of space tourism.
Astrobotic’s lunar mission consists of the lander Griffin and the rover Andy. They’ll form a single spacecraft during the journey and after the arrival on the Moon the rover will begin its mission separately. The company won $1.75 million at the Google Lunar XPrize Milestone Prizes.
Hakuto was founded with the name White Label Space in the Netherlands in 2008. In 2009, the team entered the Google Lunar XPrize and in 2010 established in Japan, where it’s developing its robots. The name Hakuto means “White Rabbit” and comes from the fact that according to Japanese folklore a rabbit can be seen in the dark areas of the lunar surface.
For its lunar mission, Hakuto is developing a double rover. It consists of the two-wheeled Tetris and the four-wheeled Moonraker, which are linked together. The company won $500,000 at the Google Lunar XPrize Milestone Prizes for the mobility of its double rover.
Astrobotic has been planning for some time to use a Falcon 9 rocket for its journey to the Moon. The costs, however, are considerable and joining forces with the team Hakuto benefits both. There’s competition among the teams but it’s positive that there’s some cooperation, which allows them to bear the costs.
The deadline for the Google Lunar XPrize was recently extended to December 31, 2016. This will allow the teams to have more time to develop their robots and to plan their journey to the Moon. At this point, it’s likely that the journey of Astrobotic and Hakuto’s robots won’t be the only one in the second half of 2016.
