The following are lists of websites for companies, organizations, and information that may help teams understand more about personal spaceflight, and lunar exploration. The first place you will probably want to look is on the X PRIZE website itself. Two pages should be of specific interest for teams:
- Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge: This competition includes many young companies in the personal spaceflight industry. You will be able to gain much information about personal spaceflight by looking at these teams.
- Google Lunar X PRIZE: The newest X PRIZE is for private groups to launch an unmanned vehicle to the Moon and perform a number of tasks while there. The first teams to successfully complete the tasks win $25,000,000. You will be able to find much information about the moon and why companies are interested in returning on this website.
Ansari XPRIZE Teams - These are companies that competed in the original Ansari X PRIZE. Note that many of these teams are in the process of taking down or re-making their webpages, so some of the below links may no longer work. Originally there were 26 teams registered to compete.)
Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Teams Websites: these are companies competing in the Lunar Lander Challenge.
Aerospace Corporations: These are just a few of the corporations that make up the aerospace industry. Looking through some of their websites may be useful in developing your competition concepts and business plans.
Other Space Organizations:
- American Astronautical Society (AAS): www.astronautical.org/
An “…independent scientific and technical group in the United States exclusively dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration.”
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: www.aiaa.org/
A space professional society that hosts a large range of conferences, projects, courses and training sessions.
- Artemis Society International: www.asi.org/
A privately financed commercial venture to establish a permanent moon base for commercial purposes.
- The Coalition for Space Exploration: www.spacecoalition.com
A group of aerospace member companies and organizations in support of NASA’s space exploration policies.
- ProSpace: www.prospace.org/
A space lobbying organization with the motto “access to Space for all!”
- Space Access Society: www.space-access.org/
Organization promoting routine, reliable, radically cheaper access to space as soon as possible. Hosts a large space conference in the Phoenix area during March.
- Space Frontier Foundation: www.space-frontier.org/
An invitation only space organization dedicated to opening the space frontier to human settlement as fast as possible. They run a large number of space projects dedicated towards this goal, as well as the protection of the enviroment and benefit of humanity.
- Space Tourism Society: www.spacetourismsociety.org/
The first organization to concentrate solely on space tourism.
- Space Generation: www.spacegeneration.org
- Students for the Exploration and Development of Space: www.seds.org/
The only international student-run space organization for students of any academic standing. SEDS students build and launch high powered rockets, launch satellites into orbit, volunteer at space related events across the globe, host internationally renowned conferences, and much more..
- The Mars Society: www.marssociety.org/
The Mars Society exists with the sole purpose of furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars. They pursue this goal through broad public outreach programs, 2 long duration Mars habitat simulations, and adamant support of government funding of Mars exploration.
- The National Space Society: www.nss.org
One of the largest and oldest space advocacy organizations in the United States, the NSS exists to: “…promote social, economic, technological, and political change, to advance the day when humans will live and work in space." The NSS publishes a bi-monthly magazing “Ad-Astra” and also hosts the world’s largest space conference, The International Space Development Conference (ISDC).
- The Planetary Society: www.planetary.org/
Organization founded by Carl Sagan and others. Uses membership dues and other donations to host ambitious space projects such as the world’s first solar sail spacecraft Cosmos 1.
- The Space Foundation: www.spacefoundation.org/
A large space advocacy group focusing on advancing civil, commercial, and national security space endeavors.
