Mock lunar landers to go head-to-head in X Prize Cup

Mock moon landers are set to compete for millions of dollars in prize money at next week's Wirefly X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico, US.

As the US prepares to return humans to the Moon, ambitious young companies are trying to build their own versions of a Moon lander for the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, a NASA-backed contest. It will be one of the headline events at the competition promoting private spaceflight on 20 and 21 October.

There are actually two levels to the competition. In Level 1, the mock landers will launch up to 50 metres high, hover for 90 seconds and then land vertically on a concrete pad 100 metres away.

For Level 2, entrants will launch their rockets, hover for 180 seconds and then land on an uneven simulated Moon surface 100 metres away. For both levels, the rockets can refuel before making the return launch back to the first pad.

Time will present a big challenge. Teams have just two and a half hours to drive from a staging area to the launch pad, pressurise and fuel their vehicles, and complete the challenges.

One company in particular has emerged as the frontrunner. Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, US, is run by John Carmack, creator of the hugely successful Doom video games. He was also a contender in the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a contest for the first private group to send a reusable crewed spacecraft to the edge of space twice within two weeks.