Google is giving $20m to the first team to land a spacecraft on the Moon in 2017

Google's nearly decade-long quest to get private space explorers to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon is finally coming down to the wire – the five remaining teams have until the end of 2017 to meet the epic challenge.

The Lunar XPRIZE competition, first announced back in 2007, may amount to the most ambitious 'contest' Earth has ever seen – not to mention the Moon – and now the race is on, as the remaining entrants scramble for the chance to make space history.

For the 16 teams that made it through up to this point, it was mandatory to secure a launch contract with a rocket services company by 31 December 2016 – a condition that the five finalists all satisfied.For the finalists with launch contracts in place, they must now take off by 31 December 2017.

Once their robotic, uncrewed spacecraft have been launched into space, the teams have to remotely land them on the Moon, where they will travel at least 500 metres (1,640 ft) across the lunar surface, and then transmit images and high-definition video back to Earth.

Not exactly a cakewalk, but the first team to rise to the challenge will take home a cool $20 million for their achievement.

Other than rewarding incredible ingenuity, one of the main aims of the competition is to raise awareness of space travel and put the scientific spotlight back on the Moon, which could be the ideal stepping stone for future space exploration efforts in the coming decades.

"Each of these teams has pushed the boundaries to demonstrate that you don't have to be a government superpower to send a mission to the Moon," Gonzales-Mowrer said in a press release, "while inspiring audiences to pursue the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."

So who's who among the last remaining competitors?

SpaceIL

From Tel Aviv, Israel, the non-profit SpaceIL has designed a 'hopper' craft that will land on the lunar surface, then launch off and fly 500 metres, before touching down again.

Moon Express

This US startup hails from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and calls the Moon the 'eighth continent'. They're also trialling a hopper lander.

Synergy Moon

An international finalist, which will be launching its own craft on a NEPTUNE 8 rocket from a site in California.

Team Indus

This Indian finalist will deploy what looks to officially be the world's cutest-looking rover from its lander. Good luck!

Hakuto

Hitching a ride with Team Indus's Moon lander, this Japanese team has a dual-rover system.

The larger, four-wheeled 'Moonraker' is tethered to the smaller two-wheeled 'Tetris', and can lower the smaller rover to explore holes in the lunar surface.

All told, this is shaping up to be one heck of a space race, and it feels so much more real now that we're finally on the home stretch.

We can't wait to see how this awesome contest plays out from here.