Sure , 2016 has n’t been a great year . But 2017 is shaping up to be jolly awesome for one main understanding – there is go to be an actual Moon race taking place . And another squad has just entered the affray .
Team Hakuto are the only Japanese squad in theGoogle Lunar XPRIZE , a $ 30 million contention to land a scouter on the Moon and travel 500 meters ( 1,640 feet ) . Today , they announcedthey had joined up with one of their challenger , TeamIndus from India , to found on the same rocket salad next year .
“ We are delighted to welcome Hakuto on gameboard our spacecraft and await forward to work with them over the next few calendar month , ” Rahul Narayan , leader of TeamIndus , said in a statement .
The two contender will be launch together on India ’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV ) at some point towards the end of next twelvemonth , with a provisional launching date of December 28 , from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota , India .
Hakuto need a newfangled better half because their previous one – squad Astrobotic from the US – announce they werepulling out of the XPRIZE , to focus on a commercial-grade Moon delegation in 2019 . TeamIndus is developing a roamer and lander , and both their rover and Hakuto ’s will utilize the same lander . The landing place site is Mare Imbrium , a vast lava plain on the Moon .
The spacecraft with the rover on board will be placed in an orbit 800 kilometers ( 500 miles ) above Earth , before set trend for the Moon . It will use rocket railway locomotive to decelerate and land softly on the lunar surface , although with the squad having never done such a landing place before , it is sealed to be a nail - seize with teeth finale .
These two teams join three others in having prescribed launch substantiation from XPRIZE . The others are US teams Moon Express and Synergy Moon , and Israeli - based SpaceIL . A 6th , Part Time Scientists from Germany , isawaiting verification .
All the squad in the competition must have their launch verified by December 31 this class to be eligible to take part , which is why these announcements are coming wooden-headed and dissipated – and there may be more on the horizon .
Each team approved so far wants to set in motion to the Moon next year , which mean there may well be a situation where multiple scouter are hie each other across the surface of the Moon to scoop up the prize , albeit in dissimilar locations .
So , screw you 2016 . We ’ll take 2017 ’s private Moon slipstream , thank you very much .
