Odyssey Moon assembles 'dream team'

DOUGLAS, Isle of Man, July 16 (UPI) -- A British company said it had assembled a "dream team" to help it capture the Google Lunar X prize, a $30 million award offered to moon-bound entrepreneurs.

Odyssey Moon Limited said Thursday it would be joined by Near Earth LLC, an investment bank that specializes in satellites and telecommunications, WPP Group, a marketing company, Aon International Space Brokers, an insurance company specializing in covering risks beyond the stratosphere, and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, a leading "global" law firm.

"This is a power house team, a dream team," said Robert Richards, Odyssey Moon's chief executive officer.

"We are combining the very best from the global satellite industry with the very best of the space exploration community to make this company and its historic first mission a success," he said in a statement.

Odyssey Moon also said it added veteran investment banker Carol Goldstein to its executive team.

Goldstein, who has experience with financing for satellite and telecommunications deals, will focus on fund raising, the company said.

Odyssey Moon said it plans its first mission to the moon in 2012. The Lunar X Prize, sponsored by Google, is designed to spur privately funded commercial and scientific visits to the lunar surface.