Google backs private Moon landing

That "prize" would hardly pay for the fuel.

Like giving a €1 prize for running 100 marathons.

Peter.

30 million. That's not exactly small change is it! It's three times more than the X-Prize and that was enough to get people going.

Some day I'm going to see you say something positive about anything and I'm gonna fall off my chair.

For google €30m isn't much either. The x prize was a lot when it started and would at the time have been expected to cover a fair bit of the cost.

This prize is really there to stimulate competition. I'm sure there are people out there who have thought about landing something on the moon, and probably have some good ideas and possibly funding. The prize money will probably not amount to much for them, but it might trigger competition between groups.

So eh... what do you need to land a probe on the moon? what parts can I get on ebay and for how much?

In the context of researching,building,testing,paying staff etc. that money is a pathetic PITTANCE.

You would hardly buy a private jet for that.

Ask Richard Branson.

Peter.

I dont think 30 million is going to motivate anyone with this task, the cost would be a few more zeros onto that prize, all the same maybe someone like Brandson would like to have a Virgin galactic rover on the moon, that would be something remembered in history for a long time.

P.S.
STAGGERINGLY vast resources are needed:

The Cost of the Moon Race: $100 Billion to Land on the Moon
by Marcus Lindroos

The US won the race to the Moon because, unlike the Soviet Union, it committed vast resources to a well thought-out "game plan" right from the start. NASA also stuck to that plan despite occasional technical & political problems. The foundation for Apollo's success was laid in 1962-67 when some 500,000 people from 20,000 companies built the spacecraft, Saturn carrier rocket & launch facilities. After this, the program was rapidly dismantled in just five years while the Apollo/Saturn system became operational, achieving President Kennedy's goal in July 1969 when Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon.

Peter.

the money blown on the Iraq war would have payed for it.

P.S.
STAGGERINGLY vast resources are needed:

The Cost of the Moon Race: $100 Billion to Land on the Moon
by Marcus Lindroos

The US won the race to the Moon because, unlike the Soviet Union, it committed vast resources to a well thought-out "game plan" right from the start. NASA also stuck to that plan despite occasional technical & political problems. The foundation for Apollo's success was laid in 1962-67 when some 500,000 people from 20,000 companies built the spacecraft, Saturn carrier rocket & launch facilities. After this, the program was rapidly dismantled in just five years while the Apollo/Saturn system became operational, achieving President Kennedy's goal in July 1969 when Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon.

Peter.

Totally flawed logic.

Take the cost of the shuttle. Then look at the cost of SpaceShip 1.

That's the whole point. Sure, it costs government agencies billions, that doesn't mean private companies can't do it FAR FAR cheaper. Just look at Spacesship 1 again. What a fantasticly elegant and simple design.

That's what they are looking for here, not a private NASA with it's huge budgets. A shoe-string mission that is smart, elegant and cheap.

I think that's the point people are missing here.