Dive Brief:
- Pennsylvania State University is attempting to be the first school to the moon in Google’s Lunar XPRIZE competition.
- A team of Penn State students and faculty is building a spacecraft, the Lunar Lion, to launch in December 2015.
- The competition also carries a $20 million grand prize.
Dive Insight:
The Penn State team assembled in 2011 and is currently accepting input from students in engineering, marketing, law, and theatre, according to AccuWeather.com. The Google competition has 18 contestants remaining, down from 32, and none of them are building the launch rocket for their missions, just the vehicle that will land and travel on the moon. Penn State has raised $150,000 so far for its launch rocket. If Penn State wins, the prize money will go toward setting up a space institute at the school, as well as scholarships.