UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State’s quest to land on the moon achieved a major milestone yesterday (Sept. 3) with the opening of the Lunar Lion team’s new official headquarters in Research Building West.

"This is where everything’s going to happen," said Michael Paul, director of the University’s Lunar Lion effort and director of space systems initiatives.

Penn State is the only university leading a team in the Google Lunar X PRIZE competition, which challenges researchers to build and launch a privately funded spacecraft to the moon capable of completing a series of exploration and imaging tasks.

To win the grand prize of $20 million, a team must be the first to land a vehicle on the moon’s surface that explores at least two locations a third of a mile apart. The vehicle must transmit high-resolution images of both locations back to Earth.

Until now, the team has had to make due with whatever space it could find in doing the work necessary to win the prize, including Steidle Building and Research Center C.

“Some of us were in a building out by the stadium,” said Reuben Bushnell, an electrical engineering graduate student, referring to Research Center C. “Most of the difficulty was getting out there and getting access to the building.”

The facility in Research West essentially consolidates all of the team’s work in a 1,700-square-foot facility, said Paul, including vehicle design, thermal engineering, systems engineering, propulsion, power and guidance, navigation and controls.

“Collaboration will be a lot easier,” said Jason Patterson, an electrical engineering sophomore.

The workspace originally served as a bakery for Penn State’s Housing, Food Services and Residence Life where staff prepared meals for students all over campus. It was most recently a laboratory for Charles Bakis, distinguished professor of engineering science and mechanics.

With the support of Amr Elnashai, Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering; Judith Todd, P.B. Breneman Chair of Engineering Science and Mechanics; and Bakis, the Research West was renovated to become the Lunar Lion team’s new home.

“I don’t know quite how to thank them,” Paul said.

The space is designed to be flexible enough to respond to the project’s evolving needs.

On display at the opening were some of the pieces of advanced equipment the team’s using, including 3-D printers and remote flying vehicles, elements of the propulsion system and a mockup of the Lunar Lion spacecraft.

A partially finished mural of the Nittany Lion Shrine on the moon dominates the laboratory’s main wall.

“The only thing that's missing is painting in the Earth rising,” said JP Muncks, former student team leader and associate mission systems engineer.

Paul said, “Eventually the spacecraft will be built in the middle of the room. But before then, we’ll be doing designing and testing in the facility.”

The Lunar Lion team harnesses students and researchers from across the University, including electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineering, as well as astronomy, physics, geosciences, business, journalism and Schreyer Honors College.

Funding for the Lunar Lion mission, 90 percent of which must come from private sources according to the contest rules, is derived through a mix of individual gifts and corporate support while using existing assets at Penn State.

Using the crowdfunding website RocketHub, more than 1,000 people have donated to support the mission.

“Without the financial support of alumni, moms and dads, students and just plain fans of space exploration, Penn State will not make it to the moon,” Paul said. “Our students are doing great things with the resources they’ve been given and we strive daily to secure the funding necessary to help them achieve this goal.”