Google funds $30 million moon prize
 

*Source: MSNBC (http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archi.../358739.aspx)*
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Google is bankrolling a $30 million race for privately funded moon rovers - an endeavor that takes the X Prize to new heights.

The Google Lunar X Prize (http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/), announced today by the search-engine giant and the X Prize Foundation at the Wired NextFest (http://www.wirednextfest.com/) in Los Angeles, ranks among the richest contests ever offered for technological innovation. It follows up on the $10 million Ansari X Prize for manned spaceflight, which was won nearly three years ago (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6167761/) by the SpaceShipOne rocket plane.

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