flanerie.org

The NewScientist reports:

Robots will go head-to-head in 2006 or 2007 to see who can move the most lunar dirt out of a sandbox and into a bin. The winning team will pocket $250,000.

[snip]

Teams will build a device no heavier than 25 kilograms. They must be able to excavate at least 150 kilograms of dirt. And they must operate on 30-watt power supplies, the power provided by a solar array on a lunar rover. Teams will have 30 minutes to scoop, dig or push as much of the regolith as possible into a collection bin at the end of a sandbox.

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I can exclusively reveal that the Flânerie Space Industries will be entering the contest, prompted by the desire to help mankind reach out to the stars. And the money. Mmmm money.

We will of course be adhering to our guiding principle of minimum effort and indeed there is little to be gained in reinventing the wheel. Our entry is self-contained, self-repairing and adaptable, and has a proven track-record of shifting huge quantities of sand in a focused way. It also complies with the weight restriction.

Familiar to anyone who has ever spent time on a beach, the 5 year-old child(tm), equipped with a 'plastic spade', can move many times it own weight in sand and can operate for up to 12 hours without a break. My first prototype, codenamed Harry, will be dispatched to Nasa in the new year.