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The Ansari X PRIZE was a space competition in which the X PRIZE Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. It was modeled after early 20th-century aviation prizes, and aimed to spur development of low-cost spaceflight. The prize was won on October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch, by the Tier One project designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, using the experimental spaceplane SpaceShipOne. $10 million was awarded to the winner, but more than $100 million was invested in new technologies in pursuit of the prize.
The second X PRIZE, the Archon X PRIZE, was announced in October 2006 by the X PRIZE Foundation. The prize is $10 million for the first non-governmental organization to sequence the complete genomes of 100 humans in 10 days time. More information on the X PRIZE in genomics at: Genomics X PRIZE
The third X Prize, the Automotive X Prize, was announced shortly thereafter, and promises a prize to the first non-governmental organization to create, market, and produce in significant quantities an automobile capable of traveling at least 100 miles on 1 gallon of gasoline.
The fourth X Prize, the Google Lunar X Prize, was announced in September 2007, and promises an unprecedented $30,000,000 to the first 2 non-governmental teams to land a rover on the moon and complete set tasks.
