Mock lunar landers set to compete for $1 million prize

Over the coming weeks, three teams will try to complete the second and final stage of the Lunar Lander Challenge (LLC), sponsored by NASA and aerospace company Northrop Grumman.

Last October, Armadillo Aerospace of Texas won level one of the challenge and $350,000 by building a rocket that made two 90-second flights, reaching an altitude of 50 metres, between flat concrete pads 100 metres apart. On Saturday, they will be aiming for the million-dollar prize for the more challenging level two.

The aim this time is to complete two flights, each lasting 3 minutes. If it can stay aloft in Earth's gravity for that long, the vehicle would have enough power to take off from the surface of the moon and go into lunar orbit.

The vehicle also has to land on a rough landscape, akin to a lunar landing site. Armadillo created their mock moonscapes at Caddo Mills airfield in Texas, using rocks and gravel.