So it turns out that it’s not just a simple cash prize of $30 million. I’m surprised by how down some people are about the prize, both its goal and the chances of winning it. I would note that Popular Mechanics completely ignores Armadillo Aerospace and dismisses SpaceX, the two groups I think could easily do it. As it turns out, SpaceX isn’t planing on doing it on its own, but is going to offer a discounted price to anyone who wants to purchase a launch to get them on their way ($20 million, leaving $5 million for the lander), and Armadillo thinks it already has enough of the technology needed it can focus on other things for a year or two and still succeed. As one amusing poster on Slashdot noted, the best way to verify that the organization has successfully landed on the moon would be to broadcast the fact that they’ve landed on the moon (warning: profanity) repeatedly on a pirate station and watch the FCC try to shut it down.