The big elephant in the room is FUNDING. Going to the moon is not cheap! I don’t think that this is a problem with just our team – all the Google Lunar X PRIZE teams likely have this problem. Right now we in the Southern California Selene Group are a self-funded group of volunteers, with extraordinary knowledge and expertise in knowing how to successfully accomplish this space mission (you can read our bios on our team page). Our design is so simple (and elegant!) that the spacecraft could be available for launch in less than two years. (I’ll leave aside the question of launch vehicle availability for the moment.)

Our team’s cost estimate of $20 million is based on real knowledge of the space business -- not wishful thinking. We have a lot of experience with costing out space missions!

This original estimate of $20 million was based on the following: $10 million for the launch vehicle and the solid rocket upper stages; $5 million for the spacecraft (which in our design includes the interstage and the lander/hopper) and a $5 million margin (always a good idea to have a cost margin in a space program!). Since making that estimate, we’ve seen our margin eaten up by a price increase (over what was stated on the SpaceX web site) in the launch vehicle Falcon 1e and a price increase (over what they generally used to cost) in the upper stages (ATK/ Thiokol) – in our design, the perigee rocket and the retro-rocket. Nonetheless, we are still holding fast to our $20 million cost estimate, but our margin is rapidly disappearing.

How to raise $20 million??!! We can’t ask for “investors,” because this money would be spent solely on winning the prize. So we call it “sponsorship.”

We considered trying to raise it piecemeal, in parts, here and there. But frankly, that troubled us. What if someone sponsors us in part, for example, and it turns out that we are unable to raise the rest? We would have to shut down (eventually), and that beloved sponsor’s money would be spent without our getting to the moon.

The only fair way to do this is to find someone out there -- or a group of “someones,” and/or a corporate sponsor -- all at once, who can commit to $20 million. We would love to have such a person/ persons/ corporation join our team, have naming rights, logo placement on the lander, but best of all -- have fun with us, share in the glory and excitement while playing an absolutely crucial, pivotal role on this winning team. Does such an individual (or individuals, or corporation) exist? We like to think so, and we are basing all our efforts on that hope!!

Meanwhile, there is a lot that this self-funded group can do. This past week our project manager, Ron Symmes, has been contacting vendors (tanks, thrusters, solid rockets, etc), arranging for test facilities, and working with Dorian Challoner, our lead systems engineer, on programmatic aspects. John, Al and Robert have been doing detailed analyses and making structural drawings, and our other team members have been busy as well. (Rex Ridenoure, our deputy project manager, has been at a space conference in Denver.) Dr. Rosen had a meeting yesterday with Ron, Dorian, Susan, Robert and Al on spacecraft design issues, and this Saturday (March 1st) we are having an all-hands seven hour team meeting to work first on refining the electronics architecture and design for our lander. This includes the landing radar system; control electronics; telemetry and command processor; communication system transmitter, receiver and antenna; camera electronics; and power system. Later in the day we will cover structure, propulsion, sensors, solar cells and thermal design issues. (An advantage for our team is that we can all get together this way, since we are indeed the SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Selene Group!)

Deborah Castleman,
Associate Team Leader