SFS News: Virgin Galactic President talks about...

The Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the Moon to win a remarkable $30 million prize purse was announced last week. Private companies from around the world will compete to land a privately funded robotic rover on the Moon that is capable of completing several mission objectives, including roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending video, images and data back to the Earth.

The Ansari X-Prize was won when SpaceShipOne reached an altitude of 377591 feet in 2004. British entrepreneur Richard Branson teamed up with Rutan and formed the Spaceship Company, jointly owned by Branson's Virgin Group and Scaled Composites. They are building SpaceShipTwo, which Branson's Virgin Galactic will use to send paying customers into orbit.

Speaking this week Will Whitehorn Virgin Galactic president, said the new competition was “interestingâ€