--- title: "Newt Gingrich Proposes $2 Billion Prize to Land on the Moon" description: "Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is proposing to award a $2 billion prize to the first private space company to land Americans on the Moon." date: "2019-08-20" modified: "2019-08-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/newt-gingrich-two-billion-prize-moon" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "artemis" - "Blue Origins" - "elon musk" - "jeff bezos" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" --- # Newt Gingrich Proposes $2 Billion Prize to Land on the Moon ![Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is proposing to award a $2 billion prize to the first private space company to land Americans on the Moon.]() *\Image: Blue Origin\* Former Republican Speaker of the House New Gingrich — alongside a U.S Army general and Michael Jackson's former publicist — is proposing a $2 billion prize to the first private space company to land Americans on the Moon and establish a lunar base, [*Politico* reports](). The contest would pit the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos against each other and would represent a small fraction of the [upwards of $50 billion]() NASA is planning to use for its upcoming 2024 mission, dubbed Artemis. The White House has yet to respond to Gingrich's proposal. The prize could be a big incentive to companies such as SpaceX and the Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origins to try and get there first. "I think people would be shocked how fast they can move," Gingrich said in an interview, as quoted by *Politico*. NASA has been at odds with Congress and the White House lately over its ambitious plans to return U.S. astronauts to the Moon. The projected costs [keep soaring](), while Congress is [digging in its heels]() as a result of sticker shock. Gingrich represents an insurgency of NASA critics that believe sending Americans to the Moon doesn't have to cost as much as NASA is projecting. But White House leadership might not be quite on the same wavelength as Gingrich. President Donald Trump has been trying to direct the attention [away from the Moon]() — causing everybody to scratch their heads in confusion. Newt Gingrich's proposal was met with plenty of criticism online as well. "Dear Senator Shelby (R-AL), have we got an idea for you," Senior Space Policy Adviser at The Planetary Society Casey Dreier wrote in a [sarcastic tweet]() today. "Please appropriate $2B for companies in CA and WA in the hopes that we can then lay off tens of thousands of \[NASA\] workers in Alabama." But the private space industry is making leaps and bounds, lowering the cost along every step of the way for what could one day signify the next giant leap for mankind. SpaceX is hard at work making a timely return to the Moon a reality — its much-hyped [Starship rocket]() could one day allow 100 tons of cargo or 100 passengers to travel to the Moon and beyond. Blue Origins' [New Glenn]() and [Blue Moon lunar lander]() could soon allow Americans to walk the lunar surface again. When exactly that will happen — ahead of or behind NASA's Artemis timeline — is impossible to tell at this stage. If it were up to Musk, it could happen [as soon as 2021](). Bezos wants to get there [by 2024](). In other words, the race is on — prize money or not. **READ MORE:** [Newt Gingrich trying to sell Trump on a cheap moon plan]() \[*Politico*\] **More on future Moon missions:** [NASA Official: SpaceX's Moon Chances Are “Slim”]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()