Team Indus an aerospace start-up administered by Axiom Research labs and operating from Bengaluru, India is one among the five winners of the coveted Google Lunar Xprize. Team Indus has been rewarded with $1million cash prize as an appreciation for the major technological progressions they made in their mission to land a private spacecraft on the moon’s surface.

Team Indus grabbed the Milestone prize in the landing section subsequent to contesting in the imaging and landing sections. The Bangalore based aerospace start-up built a prototype of the structure of the lander and carried out dropt testing & vibration.

The $30M worth Google Lunar Prize is requesting teams to perform a unique achievement that have never been done before.

Team Indus performed a private craft’s safe landing on the lunar surface which moves a minimum of 500 meters and broadcasts high – definition video & imagery back to the Earth.

A judging panel of aeronautics, science and space industry decides the winner of the Milestone prize which assessed several tests last year. The Milestone award hardware & software inventions require to surpass the technical hazards in the three critical sections – Imaging, Mobility & Landing procedures, all of them are required to fulfil a triumphant Google Lunar Xprize mission.

The 9 Milestone prize winners are

Astrobotic (US): Imaging ($250,000), Mobility ($500,000), Landing ($1M)

Moon Express (US): Imaging ($250,000), Landing ($1M)

Hakuto from Japan: Mobility ($500,000)

Part-Time Scientists from Germany: Imaging ($250,000), Mobility ($500,000)

Team Indus from India: Landing ($1M)