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Message: <blockquote data-quote="coolsoul_k" data-source="post: 7769537" data-attributes="member: 35991">6.Lunar Lander Challenge<img src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/lander-tm.jpg?w=380&h=285" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Prize: $1.65 MillionChallenge: Launch a vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) rocket that achieves the total delta-v needed for a vehicle to move between the surface of the Moon and its orbit.The lunar Lander Challenge has been an annual competition since 2006. It is funded by NASA with sponsorship from the Northrop Grumman Corporation. There are two levels to this competition. The first Level requires a rocket to take off from a designated launch area and then climb to a low fixed altitude and fly for at least 90 seconds before landing on a different landing pad. Level two requires the rocket to fly for 180 seconds before landing on a simulated lunar surface constructed with craters and boulders. The flights for level one and two must then be repeated in reverse. Qualified teams are able to register for prize-winning attempts on a first-come, first-served basis with a small crew of judges and observers traveling to meet the team at a venue of their choosing. Teams may submit <a href="http://space.xprize.org/files/downloads/LunarLander/2009/2009_NGLLC_Registration_Form.pdf" target="_blank">registration form</a>through September 15, 2009. So far 3 teams have registered.Interesting Fact: In 2008 Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas was awarded $350,000 for successfully completing Level 1. There remains an unclaimed award of $150,000 for second place. A $1 million First Place and a $500,000 second place prize remain to be claimed by the winners of Level 2. You can watch a video of the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnY5tT4YeE" target="_blank">2008 challenge here.</a>7.Progressive Automotive X PRIZE<img src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/xprize-team-header-tm.jpg?w=400&h=174" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Prize: $10 MillionChallenge: Design and build production-capable, 100 MPG (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles that people will want to buy and that meet market needs for price, size, safety and performance.Within the Competition Division, there are two vehicle classes; Mainstream which are typical small, five-passenger, economy mixed-use vehicles and alternative which has fewer performance and design restrictions and provides an outlet for more innovation. The alternate class has 2 separate prizes of $2.5 million, one for side-by-side seating and one for tandem seating. All will have the same requirements for fuel economy and emissions. Teams are also required to submit a business plan which clearly demonstrates an ability to produce 10,000 vehicles per year.Interesting Fact: On April 7 2009, the X PRIZE Foundation announced that 111 teams had registered by the February 2009 deadline. By July 8, 2009, the number of teams participating had fallen to 95. The next steps are design judging and then performance testing before the challenge prizes are awarded. You can see a list of the registered teams and pictures of <a href="http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/teams" target="_blank">some of the cool cars here.</a>8.The Saltire Prize<img src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/saltire3-tm.jpg?w=400&h=300" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Prize: $20 millionChallenge: Demonstrate in Scottish waters a commercially viable wave or tidal energy technology that achieves a minimum electrical output of 100GWh over a continuous 2 year period using only the power of the sea.The Saltire prize is named after the cross of St. Andrew on the Scottish national flag and is an attempt to unlock Scotland’s vast marine energy. The prize is also meant to kick start Scotland’s marine renewable energy program and help meet their target of generating 50% of their electricity demand from renewable energy by 2020. The team that is judged to have the best overall technology after consideration of cost, environmental sustainability and safety will win the prize. Entries for the Saltire Prize will stay open until June 2013 with the winner chosen two years later.Interesting Fact: The potential for renewable energy in Scotland is considerable. They have the potential to generate 25% of Europe’s wind energy, 25% of Europe’s tidal power and 10% of Europe’s wave power. You can watch a video about the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ybHulp2n8" target="_blank">Saltire prize here.</a>9.The Virgin Earth Challenge<img src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/js10branson_wideweb__470x3360-tm.jpg?w=400&h=285" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Prize: $25 MillionChallenge: The first person or organization to come up with a way of scrubbing greenhouse gases out of the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid global warming.Some have estimated that around two hundred billion metric tons of carbon dioxide have accumulated in the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The Virgin Earth Challenge is intended to inspire inventors to find ways of bringing that back down again to avoid the dangerous levels of global warming and sea level rise predicted by some scientific organizations. The prize challenge was conceived and financed by Sir Richard Branson and Al Gore and will be awarded to the first plan that is capable of removing one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year for 10 years. $5 million of the prize will be paid at the start of removal operations with the remaining $20 million paid after the successful completion of the plan at the end of the 10 year period. So if you are interested in saving the earth from the latest doomsday prophesy and winning $25 million at the same time you can get the entry form and the <a href="http://www.virgin.com/subsites/virginearth/" target="_blank">guidelines here</a>Interesting Fact: One approach that has been put forth attempts to catch carbon dioxide with artificial trees. The plastic trees are coated with a carbon-catching agent, allowing the carbon to be safely captured and sequestered.10.Google Lunar X Challenge<img src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/luna-x-prize-google-moon-tm.jpg?w=400&h=328" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Prize: $30 MillionChallenge: The only thing you have to do here is safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, move it 500 meters over the lunar surface and send images and data back to the Earth.The goal of this prize challenge is to inspire a new generation of private investment in hopes of developing more cost-effective technologies and materials. The first team to land on the Moon and complete the mission objectives will be awarded $20 million. The second team to do so will be awarded $5 million. Another $5 million will be awarded in bonus prizes. The competition is organized by the X PRIZE Foundation and sponsored by Google. After December 31, 2012 the first prize will drop to $15 million. The final deadline for winning this prize is December 31, 2014.Interesting Fact: You can pick up an extra $5 million bonus prize for traveling long distances (greater than 5,000 meters), capturing images of manmade objects on the moon, detecting ice on one of the Moon’s craters, discovering the remains of Apollo program hardware, or surviving a lunar night. Before you organize your Lunar X prize team you should probably read more about the <a href="http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/lunar/about-the-prize/rules-and-guidelines" target="_blank">rules and guidelines here.</a>11.Paranormal Prize Challenge<img src="http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/james-randi-magician-and-001-tm.jpg?w=400&h=240" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Prize: $1 MillionChallenge: Anyone who can show under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power.This prize is offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi states that both parties must agree in advance as to what conditions of the test constitute a “success” and what constitutes a “failure To claim, one must agree to the testing a protocol and must show in a preliminary test before a foundation representative that they are likely to succeed, and finally make a demonstration in a formal test in front of independent witnesses. To date, over 1,000 applications have been filed but no one has passed the preliminary test.Interesting Fact: One of the excuses given by a famous psychic to avoid the challenge said “Randi has powerful anti-psychic powers, and his mere presence is sufficient to damp my own powers.” If you think you have the supernatural or paranormal ability to win the 1 million dollars you can start <a href="http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge/challenge-application.html" target="_blank">application form.</a></blockquote>

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