Here’s a reasonably good article on the competition which was released just prior to the revealing showdown this weekend:
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070511_regolith_challenge.html
Here’s an interesting hypocrisy-exposer as well... How many senators running for president claim to want to reduce so-called global warming, or at least our dependence on oil from the Middle East? But have you noticed how they’re nevertheless so lacking in vision (or integrity, amidst the petro dollars that they seek) that they still refuse to sponsor the Energy Department’s potential “H Prize” for hydrogen fuel breakthroughs?
One can learn more about the “H Prize” at:
http://thomas.loc.gov , S.365
In the House, H.R.632 already has several dozen co-sponsors AND ACTUALLY PASSED LAST YEAR...only to languish due to Senate inaction including that of Senators McCain, Obama, Kerry(!) and Hillary Clinton.
For some reasonably recent articles on the H Prize:
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage6788.html
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/24/41211.aspx
&
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/22/38371.aspx
EXCERPT: “[p]rizes can provide an extra push, particularly for innovators who may be flying under the big automakers’ radar.”
For an additional analysis of the prizes paradigm:
http://www.spaceprojects.com/prizes
And for information about the only current or potential presidential candidate who aggressively backs government-sponsored prizes:
http://www.newt.org/backpage.asp?art=3055