The X PRIZE Foundation today announced two new teams and a new Preferred Partner in the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the Moon to win a remarkable $30 million in prizes. These two teams join the international group of teams that will compete to land a privately funded robotic craft on the Moon that is capable of roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending video, images and data back to the Earth.

The announcement was made in Chicago at the AGI Users’ Conference. Google Lunar X PRIZE teams were invited to attend the conference to learn about the services that Analytical Graphics, Inc. will be offering as a Google Lunar X PRIZE preferred partner. Will Pomerantz, Senior Director for Space Projects at the X PRIZE Foundation, spoke at the conference about the Google Lunar X PRIZE and introduced the new teams and partner. “We are thrilled to add our first team from Florida and our second team from Malaysia to the roster of competitors. Both these teams will add an exciting element to the competition,” said Pomerantz.

As a preferred partner, AGI will provide each Google Lunar X PRIZE team with nearly $200,000 worth of complimentary software and engineering services. “AGI’s software is unsurpassed and will bring critical new capabilities to the competing teams,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation. “This modeling and visualization software will be a great asset for the teams. We are delighted to welcome AGI as a preferred partner for the Google Lunar X PRIZE.”

The two new teams are:

Independence-X Aerospace: Independence–X Aerospace is based in Malaysia and is lead by Mohd Izmir Yamin, who has extensive experience in rocket propulsion and robotic control systems. Independence–X Aerospace is composed of team members who have served in various engineering and business fields as professional engineers, technologists and academics. They believe one of their primary advantages is their strategic geographical location, which they hope will help to reduce launch costs and utilize abundant direct solar reception. The team has also formed an academic and technical partnership with a Malaysian university, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). In addition, the Malaysian Entrepreneurs Development Center (MEDEC) will support the team with business advice.

Omega Envoy: Omega Envoy is led by Ruben Nunez, Jason Dunn, and Justin Karl, all students at the University of Central Florida. Their company, Earthrise Space, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that was founded by a group of students and professionals in Central Florida with the common goal of advancing private and commercial space exploration. The Omega Envoy project, their entry into the Google Lunar X PRIZE, will help realize these goals and expand the horizons of human space exploration. Through outreach to all academic and professional levels, coupled with synergistic business relationships, they hope to maintain Florida’s position as the global leader in the space industry.

Board Member Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully launched Falcon 1 to orbit.

“The success of Falcon-1 is a historical event. It is a game-changer that the entire space community should celebrate. While NASA might call it a ‘nominal’ launch, it truly is ‘phenomenal.’ It is the first-ever private development of an orbital launcher, and represents a capability which will be used by many of the Google Lunar X PRIZE teams to land their robots on the Moon. All of us at the X PRIZE Foundation thank Elon and the entire team at SpaceX for their vision and persistence.”

-Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation

On September 13, 2007, the Google Lunar X PRIZE was launched at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, CA. In this past year, we've seen 15 teams enter the competition, 2 leave, 3 letter-of-intent teams about to join, and nearly 1500 requests for information from potential teams. It has been one fantastic year, and we can't wait to see what the next one brings.

In celebration of our birthday, we have a few things happening around the web....

• This awesome video:
• A brand new banner for our homepage
• A little blog entry over at the Google Book Search Blog
• Some craziness over on Twitter

Stay tuned, because hopefully the next year will be as incredible (or more!) than the first.