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BMT GLXP Barcelona Moon Team @ Google Lunar X PRIZE BMT GLXP Barcelona Moon Team @ Google Lunar X PRIZE Outreach PR008 Press Brochure ENG Date: 2013-01-21 Type: Outreach Reference: BMT-Press_Brochure-v08-ENG Status: Version: Issue 1 Rev8 BARCELONA MOON TEAM | GALACTICSUITE MOONRACE SL | C/Pellaires 30-38 Nau G1 08019 Barcelona SPAIN T+34 933 037 027 F+34 933 034 665 0. OVERVIEW 4 1. OBJECTIVE: THE MOON AS A SOURCE FOR ENERGY SOLUTIONS. 4 2. THE VISION: TO GIVE IMPULSE TO AN EMERGENT SECTOR WITH A HIGH VALUE ADDED. 6 3. GOOGLE LUNAR X PRIZE: THE OPORTUNITY 7 4. BARCELONA MOON TEAM: THE CHALLENGE 8 4.1. OVERVIEW 8 4.2. LEADERSHIP 9 4.3. TEAM 9 4.3.1. Xavier Claramunt 9 4.3.2. Marc Zaballa 9 4.3.3. Carlos García 9 4.3.4. Juan de Dalmau 10 4.3.5. Ed Chester 10 4.3.6. Alfonso Martínez 10 4.3.7. Josep Amat 10 4.3.8. Ignasi Casanova 11 4.3.9. Pablo Colmenarejo 11 4.3.10. Alfonso Martínez 11 4.3.11. Alfonso Martínez 11 4.3.12. Rafael Harillo 11 4.4. FOUNDATION FOR SPACE AND LUNAR EXPLORATION (FEEL) 12 4.5. PARTNERS 13 4.5.1. Galactic Suite 13 4.5.2. Center of Aerospace Technology (CTAE) 13 4.5.3. Altran Technologies 13 4.5.4. Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) 13 4.5.5. GMV 14 4.5.6. EADS CASA ESPACIO 14 4.5.7. THALES ALENIA SPACE España 15 4.5.8. INTA 15 4.5.9. Stardust Consulting 15 4.6. GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT 15 5. ACTIVITIES 16 5.1. OVERVIEW 16 5.2. FLIGHT 16 5.3. SURFACE OPERATIONS 16 5.4. ROVER 18 5.4. SELENA 18 5.5. PLANETARY PROTECTION 18 5.6. CALLS 19 6. SPONSORS 20 6.1. PREMIUM 20 6.2. GOLD 20 BARCELONA MOON TEAM | GALACTIC SUITE MOONRACE SL | C/Pellaires 30-38 Nau G1 08019 Barcelona - SPAIN | T+34 933 037 027 | F+34 933 034 665 | [2/2] 6.3. COLLABORATORS 20 6.4. OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS 20 7. SERVICES 20 7.1. HARDWARE AND SERVICES SALES. 20 7.2. PATENTS/SPIN OFFS 21 8. OUTREACH 21 8.1. PROGRAMS 21 8.1.1. Web and Social Networks 21 8.2. Participation in Congresses and Conferences 21 8.3. Calls 21 8.4. Events 22 8.5. BMT Fan Club 22 8.6. BMT in Schools 22 9. BARCELONA MOON TEAM IN FIGURES 23 10. CONTACT 23 BARCELONA MOON TEAM | GALACTIC SUITE MOONRACE SL | C/Pellaires 30-38 Nau G1 08019 Barcelona - SPAIN | T+34 933 037 027 | F+34 933 034 665 | [3/3] 0. Overview This document sets out the basic points that describe a cutting-edge technological project, which will serve to open up new ways forward in the Spanish aerospace industry. It is also a social project, involving all society, aiming to bring space closer to people and to inspire the youngsters. The project is established around the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) an international technology competition launched by the X PRIZE Foundation (XPF) in collaboration with the Internet services company Google. The XPF is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. The GLXP will award the first teams to land a privately funded rover on the Moon (90% of the investment must come from private sources). Since Dennis Tito became the first paying astronaut in 2001 and Burt Rutan built the first spacecraft exclusively with private funding in 2004, a new way is blazed in the space sector in which the national agencies will share scene with new private actors. The GLXP is an opportunity to the national aerospace sector, which is still small but growing. Participation in the contest will develop knowledge, technical expertise and management of complex projects and multidisciplinary teams. These developments will help to face increasing challenges in the sector. At the same time, the necessary research, will revert on other industry sectors and society through spin-offs. The Barcelona Moon Team (BMT) is the only Spanish representative in the competition. The BMT gathered a team of private companies, research centers and universities in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Thanks to the large national corporations and institutional and social support the BMT will place the country in the global technology map and revert the effort and investment back to society. This document sets out the reasons which prompted this participation, team’s objectives and members, as well as the mission concept and associated communication activities. 1. Objective: The Moon as a source for energy solutions. 40 years ago, the first man was sent to the Moon. Neil Amstrong’s first step proclaimed the Americans as winners of the space race. 500 million people watched worldwide the event, the largest television audience for a live broadcast at the time. During the 1960s, the United States unified behind J.F.Kennedy’s call to "landing a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth." In the Cold War context, the space race became the battleground of the great powers. Behind this statement there was the desire to stimulate the entire country and set a goal to regain the pride hurt by the early successes of the Russians (putting into orbit the first artificial satellite, the first man in space, the first woman, the first EVA). The cold war ended years ago, and in space, confrontation has given BARCELONA MOON TEAM | GALACTIC SUITE MOONRACE SL | C/Pellaires 30-38 Nau G1 08019 Barcelona - SPAIN | T+34 933 037 027 | F+34 933 034 665 | [4/4] way to cooperation. The world space powers (with the exception of China) worked together to build the International Space Station (ISS). During the 50 years of space exploration, technologies were developed that were later transferred to the society in countless spin-offs like Velcro, the LED lights, solar panels, fireproofing materials, etc. Studies of governmental agencies such as NASA and the ESA state that every euro invested in space research reverses 4 to 6 euros in benefits to other sectors. Then, the mistake was not staying on the moon and take advantage of the astronomical investment, 25,000 million dollars in 1969 (approximately 135,000 million current dollars), requested by the Apollo program. But, why going back? What can the Moon offer to Mankind? • Advanced post for Solar System exploration Space exploration is very costly, due to the Earth’s deep gravity well. It’s 22 times easier to launch from the Moon than from the Earth. The lack of an atmosphere on the moon also makes it possible to launch materials from the moon using electric motors rather than expensive rockets. The moon is more than 40% oxygen by weight. Oxygen is the main component of rocket propellant. Much of the rest of lunar soil is silicon (useful for making solar cells) and metals like aluminum and iron. Thanks to the rock and soil return by Apollo astronauts and recent robotic probes we now have detailed knowledge of our nearest neighbor in space. The Moon is the Earth’s offshore island, and a stepping stone to the rest of the Solar System. • The Moon might be a source of solutions to some of the most pressing environmental problems that we face on the Earth. NASA has experimented for more than 30 years with different systems to collect solar energy. This clean energy can be sent from space to the earth with solar collectors in high Earth orbit made from lunar materials. A single solar power satellite could power a major Earth city without CO2 or other pollution. Since these systems provide power at night, energy from power satellites could charge electric cars, generate hydrogen from water, or make synthetic fuels for cars or aircraft during nighttime off-peak power times. In addition, we can collect energy on the moon’s surface and transmit it to the Earth. Eventually we may also collect Helium 3 trapped in moon soil which is an ideal low-radiation fusion fuel. • The Moon is an open book around the Earth’s past. The prevailing theory of the Moon’s origin is that it was created from a ring of debris that resulted from an ancient collision between the Earth and a lost planet that astronomers have dubbed Theia (the mother of the moon-goddess Selene in mythology.) So when we visit the moon we are, in a sense, reuniting with parts of ancient Earth. • The Moon can represent a Noe’s Arch to Earth’s life. Thinkers such as Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan and Konstantine Tsiolkovsky have suggested that it would be wise to spread humanity beyond the confines of our home planet in order to guarantee the preservation of our species. Space habitats constructed from material already in space (such as lunar BARCELONA MOON TEAM | GALACTIC SUITE MOONRACE SL | C/Pellaires 30-38 Nau G1 08019 Barcelona - SPAIN | T+34 933 037 027 | F+34 933 034 665 | [5/5] or asteroid resources) can enable the near term humanization of the solar system. Even though there are no habitable planets in the solar system, Earthlike environments can be created once we have access to lunar and asteroid materials. NASA has conducted detailed studies on precisely how to do this. (cite NASA Stanford and other studies.) • The Moon allows deep space exploration. The far side of the Moon is the one place in the solar system permanently shielded from the radio and television signals constantly emitted from the Earth. This makes it ideal for radio astronomy.
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