A distinguished leader of planetary exploration has joined the Carnegie Mellon University team in hot pursuit of the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize.
Tony Spear, who led the NASA-funded Pathfinder project that landed a robot on Mars in July 1997, was appointed program manager for Astrobotic Technology’s Tranquility Trek project. Astrobotic, based in Redmond, WA, is a privately held seed-stage company formed last year by CMU professor William “Red” Whittaker and his colleagues to raise funds for the lunar race.
Spear’s career began at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) shortly after graduating from CMU in 1962. He participated in the design and development of Venus and Mars orbiters and later helped design the communications system that linked the 1976 Mars Viking lander with its orbiter. A longtime resident of Pasadena, California, Spears plans to make Pittsburgh his second home.
The Tranquility Trek hopes to launch its robotic rover and arrive on the moon in July 2009, near the 40th anniversary date and historic landing site of the Apollo 11 mission. The first team that reaches the moon, drives a robot for 500 meters and tranmits a “mooncast” successfully back to Earth will earn the the largest stake of the $30 million purse.
"Coming back to Carnegie Mellon is so exciting for me,” exudes Spear, who is looking forward to spending two weeks a month in Pittsburgh as part of the lunar race Dream Team. “If we work very hard I don’t see why we couldn’t launch in 18 months. All we need is the big bucks; we’re looking to raise major money from an investment banker or high rolling billionaire who wants to leave a legacy.”
For the Pop City story on CMU joining the race, click here.
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Tony Spear, Michelle Gittleman, Byron Spice, CMU