Draft Rules for X Prize Lunar Lander Challenge

IZ Reloaded writes "X Prize Foundation is asking the public to comment on the draft rules set for its lunar lander challenge. From Space.com: According to draft rules for the lunar lander contest, competitors will be challenged to build a vehicle capable of launching vertically, travel a distance of 328 to 656 feet (100 to 200 meters) horizontally, and then land at a designated site. A return trip would then occur between 5 minutes and 30 minutes later...Comments are sought by March 1 with initial sign-ups slated for May 15, according to draft rules, though Murphy added that the comment period could be extended to 30 days."

Link to the rules, not a story about them.

[temojen]

In case anyone actually wants to comment [xprizefoundation.com].

Re:Here's a Solution

[Michael Duggan]

: By the summary, it sounds like a Helicopter could win this.

3.2.18.1 Take-off vertically under only rocket power from Point A. No aerodynamic or air-breathing methods of hovering, propulsion, or landing are permitted except in the case of abort.

Re:Mythbusters

[natedubbya]

They had an episode where they tried to make a single-person jetpack, not too dissimilar from this, only on a smaller scale. It didn't go over too well, but they got close!

Episode 32: Jet Pack
In this "twin-taled" episode, Adam and Jamie embark on the longest and most ambitious build they've ever undertaken: creating their own personal flying machine from scratch. Are these machines as magnificent as their designers claim? To make the project more realistic, the two limit themselves to a build period of one month and a budget of $10,000. Then, the MythBuilders tackle the myth that preserving the pharaohs involved much more than mummification, that it was the shape of the pyramids themselves -- in particular, their cosmically inspired geometry -- that kept the bodies of Egyptian kings intact. Is it all a load of rot, or can the build team's homemade pyramids keep fruit fresh and razors sharp, as new-age gurus claim?

Re:My Comment:

[yeremein]

Sure, the RACE to the moon was full of innovation, but other than really proving it wasn't made of cheese, it was a more colossal waste of cash than both Gulf Wars put together!

The cost of the Apollo program was $135 billion [wikipedia.org] in 2005 dollars.

George Sr.'s Gulf war cost $61 billion [wikipedia.org]. The cost of the current Iraq war is in excess of $240 billion [nationalpriorities.org] and rising. Apollo didn't even come close.