X-Prizes

X-Prizes are amazing things.

Competition and collaboration bring out the best in our species.
And by setting up a framework of competitive collaboration, the Ansari Foundation has done our species an incalculable good.

It is staggering to think that because of a competition, the first private space tourism company now exists, and will soon begin shuttling people into orbit.

Now, with the Lunar, Genome, and Automotive X-Prizes in full swing, we humans have a lot to look forward to.

A brief rundown:

Lunar: First team to launch, land, and operate a rover on the lunar surface. US$20 million to the first team to land a rover on the moon that successfully roves more than 500 meters and transmits back high definition images and video.

Genome (Archon): First Team that can build a device and use it to sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less, with an accuracy of no more than one error in every 100,000 bases sequenced, with sequences accurately covering at least 98% of the genome, and at a recurring cost of no more than $10,000 (US) per genome. Winning team wins US$10 million.

Automotive: Well, the exact guidelines are being decided, but the idea is a safe passenger car that gets 100mpg or more and can be mass-produced for less than 30k. I'm hazy on this one, but we'll know more soon.

Here are all three sites:

Google's Lunar X-Prize.

Genome X-Prize.

Automotive X-Prize.

Like a snowball rolling downhill, we steadily accumulate the technologies that will ensure our survival.

We need many X-Prizes. What about an AIDS vaccine X-Prize? Clean Water for All Humans X-Prize? So many choices.