Chinese firm will send Spanish robot to moon in 2014

China Great Wall Industry Corporation will send a Spanish rover to the moon in June 2014, according to the Galactic Suite company which heads the “Barcelona Moon Team” that is competing in the Google Lunar X Prize contest to the moon. The rover will be launched by a Long March 2C/CTS-2 rocket from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, according to the China Daily. The Barcelona Moon Team is the only team based in Spain to take part in the Google Lunar X Prize, which challenges participants to create a robot that can move over the lunar surface and send live images back to Earth before December 2015. The probe must be able to travel 500 meters (1,625 feet) over the lunar surface, send data, high resolution images and video, survive for one lunar night (14.5 days), locate the remains of earlier missions, like Apollo or Viking, and detect water. Barcelona Moon Team is the only team based in Spain that is participating in the Google Lunar X Prize, which has attracted the participation of private companies and technological centers from around the world. The project is headed by Galactic Suite, a private space tourism company, and by ALTRAN, an international consulting firm specializing in technology and innovation