Our Mission

Our team name, “Selene” stems both from Greek mythology and Selene, the wife of the team's founder. We have assembled a talented and enthusiastic group of Chinese and German engineers and technicians who are intent upon winning the Google Lunar X Prize. Our goal is to land a remote-controlled lunar rover on the Moon which must then travel a minimum of 500 meters over the lunar surface, while at the same time, sending high-definition images and video as well as other data back to Earth.

Another purpose of this project is to promote greater co-operation between China and Germany, and to foster the exchange of ideas, a process well underway for many centuries.

We seek to dispel the myth that China's design and engineering prowess is merely the product of reverse engineering, too. There are many young, motivated engineers in both countries who are eager to demonstrate that they can succeed in this mission while contributing innovative high technology inventions and concepts to the broader community of space science and exploration as well as providing support to the ongoing humanitarian efforts to achieve better living conditions here on Earth.

This mission must be at least 90% privately founded, so we are anxious to find a select number of corporate sponsors who can support us with funding, hardware, and / or manpower. Please feel free to contact our team leader Mr. Bindhammer (email: team@seleneteam.com) at your convenience if you would like to come aboard. We would be sincerely grateful for your time and support.

Biography of Markus Bindhammer, Founder

Markus Bindhammer, founder and head of Team Selene hails from Bavaria, Germany. His father, a grammar school chemistry and biology teacher, sparked his very early interest in science, and as a child, he began his study of launchers and other air vehicles. After junior high school, Markus trained as a heating and ventilator systems technician and worked for a few years in this field. Later, he became a state certified technician and studied advanced mathematics as well. It was during this time that he became very interested in electronics and robots. He wrote many articles for electronic magazines like Elektor, and he also created a few pan-European patented devices which have gone into production. In 2005, he won a science prize sponsored by the German TV broadcast station Pro7 which included a grant of 15,000 euro. He resides in Shanghai, China where he works as the technical director of a company which sells power and garden tools worldwide.

Biography of Russell Cameron, Technical Designer

Born in Australia, Cameron was always interested in how things worked and at the age of 12 taught himself basic computer programming and electronics. After completing high school, he became an electrical fitter at the Hazelwood power station. More recently, he ran a small desktop publishing business, returned to TAFE college to further his studies in electronics, worked as a computer / printer technician, and, taught himself to weld steel and aluminium. After an injury prevented him from working for 6 months, he focused on hobby robotics. Several robot designs that he posted on the internet attracted a Chinese company. As a result, he now lives in Zhongshan City, China where he develops educational robotic kits.

Biography of Mattias Lampe, Communication Systems

Mattias Lampe hails from a small town in northern Germany where he developed an early interest in science and technology. After obtaining a PhD degree in communications engineering from Hamburg-Harburg University of Technology, he moved to Beijing in 2004 where he began working for the research department of a large German company. He is in charge of an R&D team developing innovative solutions for industrial wireless communications and holds numerous patents in this field. He specializes in designing and building rugged and dependable systems that perform reliably in harsh conditions. Creating systems that can operate in space or on the moon is a fascinating new challenge for him. Giving and getting inspiration, sharing knowledge, and learning new things are his main motivations for getting involved in the Google Lunar X-Prize competition.

Dr. Peng Zong, a professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, contributes his expertise to the Team Selene lunar rover and spacecraft

Professor Peng Zong of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, along with a few of his students, will provide support for our project. They will assist us in the design of the onboard communications subsystems and conduct program analysis for the lunar rover and spacecraft as well as engage in mathematical analysis, complex simulations, and target modeling. We appreciate their willingness to volunteer their valuable time and expertise, and we are looking forward to a productive relationship with them.