Planetary Resource ARKYD Telescope Campaign Adds Complimentary Freelancer Contest

Planetary Resources, currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter for their ARKYD Telescope, has taken the first step towards making space accessible to everyone. Planetary Resources has turned to both crowdfunding and crowdsourcing, in partnership with Freelancer, to involve global communities in building, promoting and launching the first publicly accessible, orbiting space telescope, the ARKYD.

The Kickstarter campaign currently has 11 days in their left in their effort to raise $1 Million to fund the telescope.

In 2004 the Ansari X-Prize competition became the catalyst for sending the first privately funded spacecraft into Earth’s orbit. The Ansari X-Prize was modeled after the Orteig Prize, won in 1927 by Charles Lindbergh for being the first to fly nonstop from New York to Paris and is credited as one of many contests that helped create today’s commercial aviation industry.

Planetary Resources, backed by visionaries Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, X-Prize CEO Peter Diamandis and director James Cameron, is launching a US $7,000 “Design a T-Shirt” contest allowing every designer in the world to enter their designs and have the chance to become part of history.

Chris Lewicki, President and Chief Engineer at Planetary Resources said; “Freelancer.com has allowed us to expand our reach and exposure of this community funded project to a global audience of creative individuals. The contest platform has created a sense of excitement and awareness for the project around the planet which has ensured that our goal of making space exploration open to everyone is achieved.”

The winner of the Planetary Resources’ contest will be awarded US $2,000 cash and a US $5,000 Education Ambassador Pledge which will provide a school with an experience of a lifetime, including access to a space curriculum and tutorial, as well as allowing students to take observations from the satellite and #SpaceSelfies of themselves from orbit with the Earth in the background. The successful designer will be able to donate this prize to a school, university or museum of their choice.