As you all know, there are currently 21 official registered and active teams competing at the Google Lunar X PRIZE. The prize wants to stimulate new low cost robotic exploration methods for missions that, so far, had just been conducted by national space agencies. Within the 21 teams registered there will be larger or smaller rovers and landers, but for all of us, the launch is the most important cost associated to the mission. And the $30M prize is hardly covering the investment needed although it is an important and necessary stimulus.

The GLXP teams are not the only missions aiming to send robotic missions to the Moon though. There are at least two national missions scheduled along with the GLXP to get there with their rovers before 2015: one is Chinese, Chang’E-3, the other Russo-Indian, Chandrayan-2/ Luna Grunt. The competition rules establish that, if any governmental mission lands before a GLXP, the main prize will be reduced. They are then the 22nd (non registered) competitor.

The unfortunate Phobos-Grunt mission failure, launched in November, will cause a delay in the construction of the Russian lander for the Russo-Indian Chandrayan-2 / Luna Grunt mission. As a result the mission, planned for 2013, may have to be postponed by three years. 

In December, China announced their goals for future, which included robotic missions to the moon with rovers and sample return mission within this decade, and even a manned mission by 2025. Chang’E-3 was also planned for 2013, although in their public announcement in December, Chinese officials extended the calendar up to 2016. 

Are those missions impacting in the GLXP teams missions? Delays in space exploration are not good news, but for our teams, it is a $5M be/not be question. Not a frivolous one.