Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761
sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov

Becky Ramsey
X PRIZE Foundation, Washington
202-595-4329
prcontact@xprize.org

RELEASE: 08-271

NASA $350,000 PRIZE GOES TO ARMADILLO AEROSPACE IN LUNAR CHALLENGE

WASHINGTON -- Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Texas, earned $350,000
in NASA prize money during the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander
Challenge in Las Cruces, N.M.

The challenge is a two-level, $2 million competition designed to
accelerate commercial space technology and is sponsored by NASA's
Centennial Challenges program. After Armadillo's $350,000 first place
win for level one this year, $1.65 million remains as available prize
money for future competitions.

Armadillo's winning vehicle successfully demonstrated some of the
technologies needed for a lunar lander capable of ferrying payloads
or humans back and forth between lunar orbit and the lunar surface.
During the first day of competition at Las Cruces International
Airport on Oct. 24, the vehicle rose to a height of 50 meters,
translated to a landing pad 100 meters away while staying aloft for
at least 90 seconds, landed safely and later repeated the flight.

Armadillo attempted to claim the $1 million first place prize for
Level 2 on Oct. 25 with a larger vehicle designed to stay aloft for
twice as long and land on simulated lunar terrain with craters and
rocks, but they were not successful.

"We're going to keep working towards Level Two, which we can hopefully
compete for again soon." said John Carmack, the Armadillo team
leader.

"By completing multiple flights in the matter of a few hours,
Armadillo demonstrated a remarkable level of rocket engine
reusability, a feature that will be essential to more efficient
operations on the moon and beyond. The TrueZer0 team, a newcomer to
rocket development, deserves a lot of credit for flying their vehicle
to 50 meters on its first untethered flight. Armadillo and TrueZer0
represent the spirit of innovation that NASA hopes to encourage with
the Centennial Challenges program," said Andy Petro, manager of
NASA's Centennial Challenges Program at NASA Headquarters in
Washington.

The $350,000 prize won by Armadillo represents the largest prize yet
awarded under NASA's Centennial Challenge program. The Armadillo team
will be recognized for their achievement at a ceremony in Washington
next month.

Centennial Challenges is NASA's prize program to promote technical
innovation through competitions open to all Americans. The Lunar
Lander Challenge is one of seven current competitions designed to tap
the nation's ingenuity in support of NASA's goals. The program is
managed by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program Office.

The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is supported by the New
Mexico Spaceport Authority, the State of New Mexico, and Northrop
Grumman. The X PRIZE Foundation manages the Northrop Grumman Lunar
Lander Challenge for the NASA Centennial Challenges Program, which
provides the $2 million prize purse for the competition.

For more information about NASA's Innovative Partnership Program and
Centennial Challenges, visit:



http://www.ipp.nasa.gov


For more information about the X PRIZE Foundation, visit



http://www.xprize.org