Have a hankering for space exploration, but don't have billions to invest like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos? You're in luck. There is another option.
NASA is calling upon inventors and small businesses to compete in the Cube Quest Challenge by designing, building and launching a cubesat to a lunar distance and/or beyond. Information was published in the Federal Register Monday.
And what is a cubesat you ask? Well, if you're asking, then you — like me — might not be the best fit for the competition. Nonetheless, for those interested anyway, as I was, a cubesat is a type of miniaturized satellite for space research. According to NASA, they're typically about four inches long, have a volume of about one quart, and weigh about 3 pounds.
As for the challenge, prizes will be awarded for putting a cubesat into a stable lunar orbit, communicating the largest amount of data from the lunar distance in a 30-minute time frame and in a 28-day span, communicating the largest amount of data from 4 million kilometers from Earth in a 30-minute time frame and in a 28-day span, for being the last cubesat communicating and for communicating from the furthest distance from Earth.
The total purse for the challenge is $5 million. As is the case for all of NASA's Centennial Challenges, prizes are offered to independent inventors, including small businesses, student groups and individuals, with the goal being to engage the public in the process of advanced technology development.