Google pledges $30 million for private moon landing
99953
(InfoWorld) - Google will pay up to $30 million in prize money to anyone able to land a privately funded spacecraft on the moon, because "it's cool," the company said on its blog. "More seriously, space exploration has a remarkable history of producing technological breakthroughs," wrote Alan Eustace, senior vice president of engineering, on Google's blog. He cited ablative heat shields, asteroid mining, invisible braces, and the Tang orange drink as past achievements, and said the prize money could lead to further developments in robotics, new space-age materials, precision landing control technology, "and who knows what else." Teams from around the world will vie for the Google Lunar X-Prize by building lunar missions complete with robotic rovers capable of roaming the surface of the moon for at least 500 meters and sending video, images and other data back to Earth, according to a statement from the X Prize Foundation. The X Prize Foundation is best known for another space competition, the $10 million Ansari X Prize for private suborbital spaceflight, won by SpaceShipOne three years ago. Google teamed up with the foundation on the lunar project. A grand prize of $20 million will go to the first team to land a privately funded spacecraft to the Moon and complete several tasks. Bonuses of up to $5 million can be earned from roaming an additional 5,000 meters on the surface of the Moon, finding and photographing man made artifacts left on the lunar surface, such as hardware from one of the Apollo missions, discovering water ice, and surviving a lunar night, a frigid affair lasting 14.5 Earth days, the foundation said. The remaining $5 million will be paid to the second place finisher in the competition. Images from the lunar landing will be available online at the Google Lunar X Prize Web site. There is a time limit to the competition. The value of the grand prize will drop to $15 million after Dec. 31, 2012, and on Dec. 31, 2014 the contest will end unless extended by Google and the X Prize Foundation.
125031
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google Inc., has teamed up with the Soros Economic Development Fund and Omidyar Network to fund a $17 million company that will invest in small- and medium-size business in India.
255875
Google Inc. and NASA Ames Research Center said Monday that they have finalized an agreement to deliver more of the space agency's imagery and information through the Internet's leading search engine.
356913
MOJAVE, Calif.  - The world's first privately  funded manned spacecraft soared to the blackened frontiers of  space for the second time in a week on Monday, setting set a  new altitude record and clinching a $10 million prize designed  to spur commercial space travel
426447
NEW YORK, August 18 (New Ratings)  Google Inc has reportedly reduced its expected IPO price range to $85-$95 per share, from the previously expected price range of $108-$135 per share. The company is unlikely to price its shares until the market closes ...
552770
Google co-founder Larry Page is set to marry this weekend on a tiny private island in the Caribbean, US reports say.
47003
As reports FinanceGates.com, the largest Web search engine Google Inc. is going to reach $1.67 billion in its initial public offering on Thursday selling 19.6 million shares at $85 each. Still, analysts consider shares to be overpriced.
493463
LOS ANGELES - A private spacecraft is to shoot beyond Earth&#39;s atmosphere for the second time in a week today in a bid to win a US$10 million ($15 million) prize and prove that space is open for business.
278173
(InfoWorld) - Google and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed a formal collaboration agreement that calls for Google to help make NASA information readily accessible on the Web. Google and NASA announced on Monday the signing of their Space Act Agreement, which calls for them to collaborate on making it easy for people to find weather visualization and forecasting data, see high-resolution 3-D maps of the moon and Mars and track, in real time, the International Space Station and the space shuttle. In short, the partnership seeks to make NASA's work "accessible to everyone," Google and NASA said in a statement. Although NASA has collected massive amounts of information about Earth and the universe, this information is scattered and hard to find and is difficult for the average person to understand, they said. The two organizations will also tackle what they consider to be challenging technical problems in areas like large-scale data management, massively distributed computing and user interfaces. In September of last year,Â Google and NASA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)Â to collaborate on solving technical problems. That MOU also called for Google to develop up to 1 million square feet within the NASA Research Park at Moffett Field. NASA and Google also are finalizing details for additional collaborations in areas like research, products, facilities and education. The organizations will hold a press conference pn Monday afternoon to offer more information about their partnership.
158716
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- Google Inc. and NASA A
746045
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The founders of Google Inc. did it their way, and then they paid the price. Sergey Brin, 30, and Larry Page, 31, completed an initial public offering of the largest Internet search firm yesterday using an unorthodox Dutch auction ...
342557
NEW YORK : Google&#39;s share price has been set at 85 dollars in its initial public offering, a company spokesman said late Wednesday.
265067
WASHINGTON &mdash; NASA has narrowed the field of private space companies vying for $175 million in public funds the U.S. space agency expects to award in early February for demonstration flights to the International Space Station, according to industry sources closely following the competition.
444091
Google Inc., the world's biggest Internet search engine, plans to fund development of technology for hybrid and electric cars. It also switched on a solar-panel installation at its headquarters.
446773
Google Inc. launched an initiative yesterday to help non profit groups use maps and satellite images to raise awareness, recruit volunteers, and encourage donations.
49376
Also: Congress OKs private spaceflight bill. [News.com Extra]
268379
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO  - Google Inc., the most  popular Internet search engine, raised $1.67 billion on  Wednesday in its long-awaited IPO after slashing the price and  size of an offer beset by missteps and poor market conditions.