Another Centennial Challenges Update: Night Rover Allied Org, Green Flight Challenge Next Week, Radical Benefit, LaserMotive Week, More

NASA has picked the Cleantech Open as the Allied Organization to run the $1.5M Night Rover Centennial Challenge to collect solar energy and store it long enough to do productive work during the lunar night.

NASA and The Cleantech Open Partner in Robotics Challenge - NASA

Here's their Night Rover Challenge website.  You will see there that Joshua Neubert, who was the Executive Director of the Conrad Foundation, is on the management team.

Challenge.gov also has a Night Rover Challenge page.

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Get ready for the NASA Green Flight Challenge run by the CAFE Foundation, and the subsequent Google Green Flight Challenge Expo at NASA Ames:

NASA is Painting the Skies Green Over Santa Rosa - NASA - It will be held at the Sonoma County Airport there.

NASA competition could lead to air taxis anyone can afford - Al.com

NASA, CAFE Foundation Host Google Green Flight Challenge Expo - NASA

Here's the Green Flight Challenge fact sheet. (PDF)

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It isn't strictly a Centennial Challenge, but I think of it as a product of the Regolith Excavation Challenge:

NASA 2012 Lunabotics Competition Open For Registration - NASA - The Lunabotics Mining Competition will be held May 21-26 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

NASA's Digital Learning Network will hold a webcast about the Lunabotics competition on September 27, 4:00 ET.

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The X PRIZE Foundation, which ran the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, will hold a Radical Benefit for Humanity on October 20.

Briefs: Speed Up update; Will Watson interview; Space regulation discussion panel - RLV News - SpeedUp was one of the Lunar Lander Challenge competitors.  SpeedUp is now Ready for Tether Testing.

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The first winner of the Beam Power Centennial Challenge, LaserMotive, is in the news a lot lately:

Space Angels Network Invests in Wireless Power Beaming Company: LaserMotive, Inc. (PDF) - Space Angels Network

Lasermotive is in NASA power beaming project - RLV News

Could laser propulsion open up space? - Next Big Future has an interview with LaserMotive's Jordin Kare.

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It would be nice to get some discussion going at this NASASpaceflight.com forum post on the 2nd Nanosat Launcher Challenge Seminar.

Sample Return Registration, TARC Tour, Green Flight Challenge and Expo, Much More

Wow, there's a lot going on in the space prize world!  A lot of the topics deserve their own post, but with my growing family I can only manage a quick link list.  Here's the latest roundup of space prize updates:

Sample Return Robot Challenge

Challenge Rules Posted & Registration Open - Sample Return Robot Challenge (WPI) 
@WPI_Robotics: Picture of the pre-cached sample for the Centennial Challenge! #WPI #omgrobotswpirobotics.smugmug.com/services/graph… or visit challenge.wpi.edu for info

Team America Rocketry Challenge

Winning TARC Team Visits Washington, Praises Raytheon for Support - Raytheon
TARC Winners in DC - This is a Flickr photo set of the visit.

Green Flight Challenge

Matters of Note for the Green Flight Expo - The CAFE Foundation Blog describes Matternet, "an outgrowth of Singularity University" that plans to enable transportation of supplies to remote locations.
List of Exhibitors - The Green Flight Expo will be at NASA Ames on October 3 after the competition.  The actual competition starts in 1 week.
See the Google Green Flight Challenge Exposition hosted by NASA

Other

New Competition Brings Robots to Market - OSTP Blog
2nd Nanosat Launcher Challenge Seminar Draft Agenda Updated 9/16/2011 - Team Phoenicia
N-prize: the world's smallest space programme - SpaceRef - Part of this is a call for global representation in the challenge, particularly in Asia.  The new N-prize teams map shows why.  There is a gap, but on the bright side that's a lot of teams!
Fall 2011 Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest - Teaching with Contests
CTSI Chooses LaserMotive as One of Top Ten Defense Energy Tech Companies - LaserMotive
Conrad Foundation on Capitol Hill - NASA Watch
"What's Next?" In Space Exploration Video Contest - NASA Watch - The contest is from the Coalition for Space Exploration.
Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts show Right Stuff in National Rocket Competition - Space for All
Student contest to name the GRAIL lunar probes and to direct their cameras - Space for All
Canadian Satellite Design Challenge - Space for All
Int. Art Contest - The Space Foundation - Space for All
Student NewSpace Business Plan Competition - RLV News
Unreasonable update - RLV News - Paul's post includes a picture of a new tank, and here's another one of it: twitpic.com/6j0jng

Space Prize Roundup: Green Flight Approaches, MoonBots 2.0, Sample Return Rules, More

The Green Flight Challenge is getting close:

Embry Riddle Begins GFC Test Flights - CAFE Foundation Blog

Latest Details - Sample Return Robot Challenge at WPI gives an update on the final rules, team agreement, and registration.

The X PRIZE Foundation and LEGO Group Announce Global Student Team Winners of MoonBots 2.0 Challenge - Google Lunar X PRIZE

Creating a Collaborative Nano-Bio Manufacturing Institute - Challenge.gov - This is for the Air Force Research Lab.

Competition Provides Solution for Stopping Uncooperative Vehicles - OSTP Blog

08/26/2011: Update - SpeedUp

The NASA Tech Briefs "Create the Future" Design Contest winners should be announced this month.

UK contest for student space settlement design - Space for All

The Hubble Roadshow - update and contest - Space for All