Market Opportunities Unlimited (MOU) Blog

Google Moon Contest: $30 Million Prize, Who Should Win?

Google now has a moon contest going on, called the Google Lunar X PRIZE.

 

They are offering prizes totally US $30 million to privately-funded teams that can build a robot that can land on the moon's surface, explore the Moon by moving at least 500 meters (~1/3 of a mile), and return (beam) high definition video and imagery back to earth.

 

According to the contest rules, the aim of the contest is to foster in a new era of lunar exploration, aka Moon 2.0, which thrives on being international and participatory, and derives much of its strength from the cooperation and collaboration between civil space agencies and private firms"

 

The website for the contest is http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/ 

 

There are four (4) categories of prizes:

1. A grand prize of $20 million. To incentivise teams to work quickly, this  will change to $15 million when a government-funded mission successfully explores the lunar surface, currently projected to occur in 2013


2. 2nd prize of $5 million for the team who next-completes the contest objective.


3. $4 billion in bonus prizes including the robot's ability to operate at night; travel more than 5km over the lunar surface,;detect water and precision-land near an Apollo site or other lunar sites of interest (such as landing/crash sites of man-made space hardware).


4. $1 million to the team that demonstrates the greatest attempts to promote diversity in the field of space exploration.

 

According to Wikipedia article,"Google Lunar X Prize", twenty-nine (29) teams have officially registered.

 

They have been encouraged to get funding from private sources - such as customers, investors, sponsors, and donors. However, teams are  encouraged to seek government customers who'd be willing to purchase services and data at commercially reasonable rates.

 

One of the great things about this contest is that the public gets to see the prototypes that the teams have been working on since 2006 and see how far the teams have progressed...

 

...Which really makes the Google Lunar X PRIZE site rock!

 

Technology lovers, professionals, managers and business owners - if you want to see the future of technology, you've just got to check this site out!

 

You can get great insights into how technology is progressing where space exploration is concerned...and maybe you can also foresee possible applications here on earth. :)

 

Unfortunately the deadline for entries to the contest closed on December 31,2010. (Remember this contest started way back in 2006).

 

But the Google Lunar X PRIZE site is well worth a visit, you'll definitely learn a lot! 

 

By the way, which teams do you think have the greatest potential of winning and getting the top prizes?

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

1) Article, "Google Lunar X Prize", via  Wikipedia.org, accessed November 4,2011

2) Preview of Google Moon Contest via Current.com, accessed November 4,2011

3) BBC World Service programme, Science in Action coverage of team Moon Express, (a team in the Google Lunar X PRIZE), November 3,2011

Carlos Hill Court Case Postponed Again!

Well, here we go again:

 

The fraud case involving former Cash Plus boss, Carlos Hill, his brother Bertram and former Financial Controller of Cash Plus - Peter Wilson, was to be heard today, but was postponed until November 21.

 

(They are charged with obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to defraud). 

 

The reason: Mr Hill's lawyers, including Valerie Neita-Robertson, were unavailable today, as they were involved in another court case. (The Carlos Hill fraud case was to be held in the Home Circuit Court).

 

Well, we'll see what happens come November 21...

 

...What do you think will happen folks?

 

Do you think that there'll be another postponement or will this case eventually be heard?

 

Interesting huh?

 

This case has been postponed several times since 2009.

 

According to Television Jamaica's Nightly News at 10:00 p.m., Mr Hill's bail is $16 million.

 

If convicted, he'll face up to seven (7) years in prison.

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

1) Nationwide Radio, June 13,2011

2) Television Jamaica's Nightly News at 10:00 p.m., June 13,2011

Richard Branson's Quest for Commercial Space Travel, Becoming Reality

SpaceShipTwo with wings in feathered position.
Originally uploaded by Virgin Galactic

We, here at MOU Blog, love looking into the future...long into the future...

(XTNXEGN98SC7) 

And we believe that every business should have future plans of up to 100 years.

 

Well, we've always had an interest in the Virgin Group, not only because of its successful partnerships and acquisitions, but because of its sometimes eccentric but very futuristic founder, Richard Branson.

 

For the past 15 years he's been working at trying to fly people to outer space, commercially (space tourism) and finally it seems as if his dream will shortly (within the next 3 years) become reality. 

 

Article, "First commercial space ship tested" tells of the successful flight of the VSS Enterprise (SpaceShipTwo), the world's first commercial space ship.

 

It was developed by Virgin Galactic, aka "The SpaceShip Company", which is founded by Richard Branson and Burt Rutan, a renown aerospace designer and engineer.

 

The space ship was released from its mothership "Eve", on Monday, at an altitude of 45,000 ft.

 

(Normal commercial planes fly at altitudes of between 30,000 - 37,000 ft.).

 

[The process should work like this:

 

The spaceship is attached to the mothership, which  provides the rocket power to get the spaceship up into the air, then, eventually, out out of the earth's atmosphere and against the force of gravity, into outer space.

 

The mothership then releases the spaceship in space. The spaceship then smoothly glides in space (whilst being manned by pilots).

 

The spaceship then reattaches to the mothership for re-entry to earth.

 

According to Wikipedia article,"SpaceShipOne", SpaceShipOne, the predecessor to the VSS Enterprise (SpaceShip Two), completed the first privately funded spaceflight on June 21, 2004.

 

At that time it became the first privately funded manned spacecraft to exceed 100km altitude, and the first privately funded reusable manned spacecraft].

 

According to article,"First commercial space ship tested", the flight had two (2) main goals:

 

1)To carry out a clean release of the spaceship from its mothership

 

2) For the pilots to free fly and glide back and land at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

 

Both goals were successfully achieved.

 

One of the pilots, Pete Seibold, said that the VSS Enterprise was a real joy to fly considering that it's not only meant to be a spaceship, but one the worl'd highest altitude gliders.

 

Virgin Galactic is currently booking people for space travel. Tickets cost US $200,000, with a mandatory deposit of US $20,000.

 

So far they have had 370 customer deposits totalling $50 million.

 

What about you?

 

If you had the money, would you be willing to fly commercially in space?

 

Please click on the links in this post in order to learn more about the VSS Enterprise and Virgin Galactic.

 

(I would like to thank Virgin Galactic for the use of their Flickr inset photo entitled, "SpaceShipTwo with wings in feathered position").

 

Gillian 

 

Sources Include

 

1) Article,"Spaceships - Virgin Galactic's vehicles", via Virgin Galactic website, accessed October 15,2010

 

2) Virgin Galactic's website, accessed October 15,2010

 

3) Answer to question, "What altitude do passenger aircraft usually fly at?", via Answers.com,accessed on October 15,2010.

 

4) Burt Raton biography, via Answers.com, accessed October 15,2010

 

5) Wikipedia article,"SpaceShipOne", accessed October 15,2010

 

6) Article, "First commercial space ship tested", via Breitbart.com, October 11,2010

 

7) Article, "VSS Enterprise Completes First Manned Glide Flight," via VirginGalactic.com, October 10,2010

 

Sebastien's Bid to Become the Smallest Multinational in the World!

 

Please view the video above, as this post is based on its content. :)

 

Meet Sebastien Eckersly-Maslin, CEO of Sebastien International.

 

...Ex-Navy officer and serial entrepreneur who wants to prove to the world that you don't have to be big, to be a multinational company.

 

(According to BusinessDirectory.com, "a serial entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who constantly comes up with new ideas and starts new businesses based on these ideas.

 

As opposed to a typical entrepreneur who will often come up with a business idea, start a company based on same, then see it through, whilst playing an important role in the day to day functioning of the new company, a serial entrepreneur will often come up with the idea and then get things started.

 

However he/she will give responsibility to someone else and move on to a new idea and a new venture.

 

BusinessDirectory.com says that this can be a  good thing if the individual has lots of unique ideas and is the best one to get things started, but can be a bad thing if the individual stops putting time into a company that needs his/her help, in order to move forward with a new idea that may or may not succeed").

 

Sebastian has a background in engineering and has several businesses that he has founded.

 

These include:

 

1. Bluechilli
2. Autocarlog.com
3. RUFamous?
4. OneForOne

 

In February 2010, he started his first successful company in seven (7) days, with just $500!

 

He has offices in six (6) major international cities: Tokyo, Paris, London, New York, San Francisco and Sydney - which provides the base for his multinational company - Sebastien International.

 

As of October 1, Sebastien set out to secure overseas clients for each of his businesses, under the Sebastian International brand, in order to substantiate his bid to become the Smallest Multinational.

 

He plans to do this in as little as 12 days!

 

What do you think?

 

Do you think he can he make it?

 

Based on your knowledge of entrepreneurship, what is Sebastien doing right/wrong?

 

MOU Blog will definitely be following Sebastien on his bid and will provide you with updates re how far he's gotten in his quest to become the Smallest Multinational in the world!

 

Gillian

CrunchBase: Your Free Technology Company Database

Look mummy, my wings are huge!!
Originally uploaded by Carl Loves Somerset

Want to keep abreast of new technology companies on the horizon?

 

Or

 

Are you looking for a job in the technology (tech)industry...but want to work with newly-funded companies?

 

Or...

 

Maybe you own a tech company and want to get it funded...

 

Well, you've got to check out Crunchbase.com!

 

It's a free database of tech companies and related company information, e.g. funding/IPO news and contacts of key people who work at these companies.

 

It's constantly being updated by employees, owners, ordinary people like you and me and provides rich information re these companies, their investors, the type and amount of funding received, which companies the listed companies are actively investing in and the amount of funding given.

 

The fun part about it is that you can search for a tech company either by name, by location, alphabetically, by category e.g. bio-tech or semiconductor...

 

...You can also search by type of funding received - whether it be "bootstrap" or "funded", or where the company has acted as investors in other companies - by "investor".

 

So check it out, it will be well worth your while!

 

Crunchbase.com has been rated a definite must visit by MOUBlog.

 

Please feel free to let us know what you think about it, by leaving your comments, below. :)

 

Gillian