In 2007, X PRIZE Foundation and Google Inc. launched the Google Lunar X PRIZE. This is a robotic race to the moon. The winner of this competition may win up to $30 million worth of prize purse. This competition was opened to all private companies around the world. The goal is for them to land a robotic rover on the moon and be able to send back evidence of its completion such as videos, images and other data. The team must succeed in their mission by the end of 2015. 

After several years of grueling competition, Google Lunar X PRIZE made an announcement that only 5 of the 18 remaining teams are still on the race to send the first commercial spacecraft on the surface of the moon. The finalists include Astrobotic Technology Inc. and Moon Express Inc., from the U.S., Japan's Hakuto, Germany's Part-Time Scientists and Team Indus from India. An independent panel of judges selected the final qualifiers who could have a potential winning prize of $6 million. The finalists were selected based on their ability to plan a solution on the essential technical challenges that they have identified. For the next phase of the competition, which will run from February until September, the judges will track each team's progress. Teams will conduct a demo to test and simulate their plan. There could be more than one winner in each category and all teams may avail one or more prizes.

Any team that can win one or more of the milestone prizes and will eventually finish first or second will have deductions on their final prize depending on the milestone prize that they have already received. Currently, Astrobotic, Team Indus and Moon Express are considered finalists for their achievement in hardware and software systems that may help successfully land the robotic rover on the moon. They may win $1 million as a reward. Astrobotic, Hakuto, Moon Express and Part-Time Scientists are finalists for the mobility systems allowing a lunar craft to travel at least 500 meters on the moon's surface after landing. They are up for a $500,000 reward.

Each team is working really hard to get the top spot and make history by the end of the race.