Five finalists named in Google's $20 million Lunar XPrize

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Five finalists named in Google's $20 million Lunar XPrize

Five teams are still in the running for Google's Lunar XPrize. If they successfully get their rocket to the moon and transmit HD video and photos back to earth, they'll win a whopping $20 million.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KGO) -- Google announced the five teams still in the running for the Lunar X-Prize Challenge Monday.

Each of the five finalists has contracts to fund a launch to the moon before the end of the year.

The teams come from different countries and one of them plans to launch off the coast of California.

An international team named Synergy Moon, which is headquartered in San Francisco, did a test flight of their rocket in the Mojave desert.

The winning team will be the first one to launch to the moon, maneuver across the lunar surface and transmit high definition video and pictures back to earth.

The grand prize is $20 million.