Armadillo Aerospace lunar lander Pixel

Pretty cool.

The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, a NASA-backed contest, aims to spur the development of the required technologies. The competition has two levels. Level 1 requires two 90-second flights, and Level 2 requires two flights of 180 seconds each.

Armadillo Aerospace, co-founded by Doom video game creator John Carmack, made three attempts to win the shorter, Level 1 contest in 2006, but ultimately did not walk away with the top prize, worth $350,000 prize.

But on Saturday, the company flew its Pixel lander for 192 seconds at the Grayson County Airport in Denison, Texas, US. This is its longest flight so far – and crucially, makes it a serious contender for the lander contest's $1.5 million Level 2 prize. Watch a video of the tethered flight (.mpg), where heated concrete appears to pop off the launch pad at times.