Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge Award Ceremony

On Friday, December 5, 2008, the X PRIZE Foundation, Northrop Grumman, and NASA Centennial Challenges gave away the first prize or challenge purse since the Ansari X PRIZE was won in 2004. Armadillo Aerospace successfully accomplished Level 1 of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge in November, and many friends and industry leaders were in attendance last Friday in Washington, DC to celebrate this accomplishment.

Among the attendees were Peter Diamandis, Founder and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation; Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator; Doug Comstock, Director of NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program; Carl Meade, the Director of Space Systems for Northrop Grumman; and George Nield, Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration.

John Carmack, the head of Armadillo Aerospace was there to accept the $350,000 award:



And finally, here's a short presentation about the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge that was shown at the ceremony (click through for HD version).