Google is offering $30 million dollars to the first private company that can land a robotic rover on the moon and beam back a gigabyte of images and video to Earth. Google has partnered with the X Prize Foundation for this contest and it is open to companies around the world.< p>

Whoever fills the requirements of the contest by the end of 2012 gets $20 million dollars. The winner must be able to have a successful landing and have high-definition video and still cameras. The rover must also be able to trek at least 1,312 feet on the moon and send self-portraits, panoramic views, and near-real time video back to Earth that will be streamed on Google’s website. The participants must create a secure launch vehicle for the probe by building it themselves or contracting with a private rocket company.

If there is no winner, the prize will drop to $15 million dollars until the contest ends in 2014. There is a $5 million dollar second-place prize and a $5 million dollar bonus to the teams that go beyond the minimum requirements.