“space 2.0” Business Plan Competition

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 19, 2007 – GOLDEN, Colo., The Eighth Continent Project announced today its Call for Entries for the 2008 Lunar Ventures New Enterprise Competition, challenging university students from around the country in business, engineering and science to collaborate in creating business ventures related to space commerce.

Prizes for winners include a cash award of $25,000, venture start-up services and an invitation to compete in the Global MOOT CORP Competition for a $100,000 award. The Lunar Ventures final rounds will be held March 28-30, 2008 on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. Proposals are now being accepted under the guidelines posted at http://www.8clunarventures.com.

“Last year’s competition resulted in fundable ventures based on ground-breaking technology that exceeded everyone’s expectations,” said Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, Center for Space Resources Director. “There’s such a great opportunity here for young people to seek start-up funding and catapult their careers.”

“New technology companies pop up everyday, so it’s really hard to get your idea off the ground and actually turn it into a working business plan, product and company,” said Brad Chisum, CEO of last year’s Lunar Ventures winner Lumedyne Technologies (formerly Omega Sensors). “Winning that competition put us in front of investors and business leaders and helped us get our footing as a company.”

Townsend and Townsend and Crew, an intellectual property law firm and an Eighth Continent Project founding partner, is on board to provide intellectual property advice and a first patent application assistance to the winning team. According to Townsend attorney Gene Branch, “Lunar Ventures represents the new spirit of the space industry, which is now focused on bringing all that space has to offer into the global economy – what we call Space 2.0."

About Eighth Continent and Lunar Ventures
Based in Golden, Colorado, the Colorado School of Mines’ Eighth Continent Project (www.8cproject.com) is the world’s most comprehensive effort to integrate space technology and resources into the global economy. Eighth Continent provides the infrastructure and resources to solve a wide range of challenges from global warming to renewable energy development. Located in Colorado, home of the most concentrated entrepreneurial, investor and aerospace talent in the world, Eighth Continent brings space down to earth with the industry’s first trade association, incubator, venture fund and research hub, all working together to develop the next generation of space business ventures.

The Lunar Ventures New Enterprise Competition is a program of the Eighth Continent Project’s Chamber of Commerce and is dedicated to helping students develop successful space-related technology and resource business ventures.