Google has announced a cash prize of $30m for the first people to land a robotic rover on the moon.

The web giant has stumped up the cash to sponsor the Lunar X PRIZE competition, an international event open to anyone that thinks they can create a low-cost robotic method of space exploration.

The last visit to the moon by humans was in 1972 by Apollo 17, when astronauts Captain Gene Cernan and Dr Harrison Schmitt became the last men to do the famous bounce.

“The Google Lunar X PRIZE calls on entrepreneurs, engineers and visionaries from around the world to return us to the lunar surface and explore this environment for the benefit of all humanity,” said Dr Peter H Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation.

“We are confident that teams from around the world will help develop new robotic and virtual presence technology, which will dramatically reduce the cost of space exploration.”

“Having Google fund the purse and title the competition punctuates our desire for breakthrough approaches and global participation,” continued Diamandis. “By working with the Google team, we look forward to bringing this historic private space race into every home and classroom. We hope to ignite the imagination of children around the world.”

The rules are simple: a privately funded robotic rover must land on the moon to complete several tasks, including being able to roam the lunar surface for at least 500 metres, sending back video, images and data to Earth.

The winners will get $20m, with $5m for second and $5m in bonus prizes. However, if there’s no robotic roaming under way before 31 December 2012, the first prize will drop to $15m.