Google Lunar XPRIZE: Indian startup TeamIndus in the top 5

Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $30 million competition, is an international contest to land and operate a robotic spacecraft on the surface of the moon.

Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $30 million competition, is an international contest to land and operate a robotic spacecraft on the surface of the moon.

According to the competition rules, all teams had, until December 31, 2016, to have a verified launch contract in place. TeamIndus had signed an official launch contract with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in December, last year. For which it will be using a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV). The launch is slated for December 28, 2017, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

In the competition TeamIndus incorporated as Axiom Research Labs Pvt Ltd. To win the prize, privately-funded teams must land their spacecraft on the surface of the moon, travel 500 metres, and broadcast high-definition videos, images and data back to earth.
Four other teams from around the world – SpaceIL (Israel), Moon Express (USA), Synergy Moon (International) and HAKUTO (Japan) – have also qualified for the same. TeamIndus has also signed a commercial agreement to carry a robotic rover developed by Japan’s HAKUTO.
Last year, Team Indus won $1 million for meeting significant milestones in developing a robot that can safely land on the moon, travel 500 metres and send so-called Mooncasts. TeamIndus will also be the beneficiary of a $1-million ‘Diversity Prize’ that will be split among the 16 Google Lunar XPRIZE teams that participated in the contest.
‘Each of these teams has pushed the boundaries to demonstrate that you don’t have to be a government superpower to send a mission to the Moon, while inspiring audiences to pursue the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,’ said Chanda Gonzales-Mowrer, senior director, Google Lunar XPRIZE.
In an earlier report, TeamIndus had mentioned that it sees SpaceIL as its toughest competitor in the race.
Teamindus is having 12 technical advisers, 11 direct partners, and more than 100 total participants on board. Rahul Narayan is the fleet commander and tech lead. The other primary participants of Team Indus are Sheelika Ravishankar, Dilip Chabria, and Nirmal Suraj.
‘We’re very excited to be in the final lap of this race. Taking the Hakuto rover aboard our spacecraft makes the race much more interesting now. I believe that all the teams have a good chance to win, in fact coming this far is a victory of sorts in itself. This is going to be a year that changes space access and probably even travel forever,’ said Sheelika Ravishankar, Jedi Master (head), Marketing & Outreach, TeamIndus.
The moon mission is costing TeamIndus around $60 million (about Rs 410 crore). It has raised $15 million so far and is looking to raise more funds in 2017. Its investors include the likes of Ratan Tata, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, Sasken Communications’ Raji Mody and TVS Group’s Venu Srinivasan.