A radical of rocket scientists has announced their intent to bring down a pair of rover on the Moon , near the landing web site of Apollo 17 , which touched down in 1972 . And , if everything goes to plan , they ’ll inspect the rover left behind by the missionary work .
The Berlin - base squad , call thePart Time Scientists(PTScientists ) , is one of 16 squad vie in the Google Lunar XPRIZE , a competition for secret company to send vehicles to the Moon . The first team to move 500 meter ( 1,640 fundament ) will scoop a $ 20 million loot , with variousother bonusesavailable .
PTScientists ’ mission will consist of a lunar lander call the Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module ( ALINA ) , and two four - wheel bird of passage developed in partnership with Audi . On Tuesday November 29 , they announced they had secured a declaration with Spaceflight Industries , which helps private companies establish payloads on skyrocket .
Audi ’s promotional video for the mission
“ It ’s the last piece of the mystifier , ” said Robert Bohme , CEO of PTScientists , in a program line , reportedcollectSPACE . " We have been busy designing and essay our rovers , build up our shipping and landing place spacecraft , and now we have secured our ride to space . "
PTScientists are hoping to land their wanderer about 3 to 5 klick ( 2 to 4 land mile ) from the Apollo 17 landing place website . Each rover will have two two-channel camera on a move head to learn 3D image . They will be power by solar panel , while a third photographic camera will study materials on the surface and take panoramic images .
The scouter will have a maximum speed of 3.6 kilometers per hour ( 2.2 geographical mile per hour ) , some way short of the unofficial lunar land - f number record of 18 kilometre / h ( 11.2 miles per hour ) , set by Apollo 17 spaceman Gene Cernan . Cernan and his lunar familiar , Jack Schmitt , are pronounce to have given their commendation to this mission .
The squad want to see what damage has been done , if any , to the Apollo 17 lunar rover in its four decades on the Moon . NASA
agree toNew Scientist , the company intends to plunge in late 2017 or early 2018 , perhaps as a secondary cargo on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket . But if it want to come through the Lunar XPRIZE , it might have to go sooner rather than later ; four competing teams have already announce their intention to land their own vehicles on the Moon in 2017 .
One of these is Israeli - basedSpaceIL , which also hopes to set in motion on a SpaceX Falcon 9 roquette . Another , US teamMoon Express , has booked a flight with little - known Los Angeles rocket companionship Rocket Labs USA in 2017 , who have yet to successfully launch a rocket .
A third team , Synergy , announced their own intent to plunge next year on a Neptune 8 rocket built by California - ground Interorbital Systems , who have also yet to set up a rocket . And , today , a 5th company – TeamIndusfrom India – announce they had a launch contract with the Indian Space Research Organization ( ISRO ) , also in 2017 .
Yes , there is an actual twenty-first - one C Moon backwash taking place . That ’s pretty awesome .
