WASHINGTON - During the X PRIZE Cup Oct. 27-28, NASA's Centennial Challenges Program will offer prizes totaling $2 million if competing teams successfully meet the requirements of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The challenge will take place at Holloman Air Force Base, in Alamogordo, N.M.

The purpose of the lunar lander challenge is to accelerate technology development leading to a commercial vehicle that could one day be capable of ferrying cargo or humans back and forth between lunar orbit and the moon's surface.

To win the prize, teams must demonstrate a rocket-propelled vehicle and payload that takes off vertically, climbs to a defined altitude, flies for a pre-determined amount of time, and then land vertically on a target that is a fixed distance from the launch pad. After landing, the vehicle must take off again within a predetermined time, fly for a certain amount of time and then land back on its original launch pad. There are two levels of difficulty, with awards for first and second place at each level.

For more information about the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup, visit:

http://space.xprize.org/x-prize-cup

For more information about NASA's Centennial Challenges program, visit:

http://centennialchallenges.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov