As the year draws to a screeching end and I grow weary of talk about a self inflicted fiscal cliff and possibly raising the price of milk to $7 a gallon I reflect on no Google Lunar X Prize launches to the Moon.
It may turn out that by this time next year, 2013, we may see a lunar lander on the Moon placed there by China and its Chang'e 3 spacecraft. Too bad for the Lunar X Prize participants as the prize money will be reduced.
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The Google Lunar X Prize expires when all constituent purses have been claimed or at the end of the year 2015 (whichever comes first). To provide an added incentive for teams to complete their missions quickly and thereby create the first vehicles to operate on the surface of the Moon since 1976, the value of the Grand Prize will decrease from US$20 million to US$15 million whenever a government-led mission lands on and explores the lunar surface.[1] This timeframe is in possible competition with China's plans to land its Chang'e 3 lunar lander/rover on the lunar surface in 2013.[5]
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Looking forward to 2013. Keep me posted if you hear of any updates.
- LRK -
Chang'e 3
Chang’e 3 is the third robotic lunar probe mission of the China Lunar Exploration Programme (CLEP). Scheduled to be launched in 2013~14, the probe will soft-land on the Moon surface and deploy an unmanned Lunar Rover to explore the areas surrounding the landing spot. The mission is heded by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) and the primary contractor for the probe is the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) of the China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation (SASC).
The Spacecraft
Chang’e 3 lunar probe consists of two modules: the Service Module and the Lunar Landing Vehicle (着陆器), with a total mass of 3,700~3,800kg. The spacecraft will be launched onboard the CZ-3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, and will be controlled by the ground via the X-band very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) system upgraded with 64m and 35m diameter antennas.
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And from Wikepedia.
- LRK-
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Chang'e 3 is a lunar exploration mission operated by China National Space Administration, incorporating a robotic lander and a rover. Chang'e 3 is scheduled for launch in late 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.[1][5] It will be China's first lunar rover, and the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976.[6] It is named after Chang'e, the Chinese goddess of the Moon, and is a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 lunar orbiters.
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Read NASA Watch clip
- LRK -
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If Chang'e-3 Lands, Google Lunar X Prize Drops by 25%
By Keith Cowing on November 14, 2012 2:40 PM. 
20 Comments
20 Comments
Summary of Rules and Requirements, Google Lunar X Prize
"The competition's grand prize is worth $20 million. To provide an extra incentive for teams to work quickly, the grand prize value will change to $15 million whenever a government-funded mission successfully explores the lunar surface, currently projected to occur in 2013."
China's Chang'e-3 to land on moon next year, China Daily
"Ma said the Chang'e-3 would probe and explore the lunar surface, and carry out various environmental and space technology related tests. It will spend 15 days on the moon to lay the foundations of what he called, further deep space exploration."
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To the new year.
To the new year.
Thanks for looking up with me.
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Tiny URL for Google search results for Chang'e 3 images
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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