JJ Abrams documentary with Google heads to the moon

The folks behind XPRIZE and Google have just revealed that they'll be doing a documentary with Director Orlando von Einsiedel and Executive Producer J.J. Abrams. This piece of work will be a 9-part digital documentary that'll premiere on the 15th of March on Google Play and on the 17th of March on YouTube. It'll cover the set of teams competing in the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition. Their "quirks." Their sacrifices. Their challenges. All the good stuff.

You like documentaries. You like to learn about the things Google has its hands in. Why not combine the two?

The trailer for the series is right here – have a peek:

Like any good Netflix series – though released not on Netflix, but elsewhere – this series will be released in one big batch. All for free.

The whole series is free, but don't let that fool you.

Production value is extremely high, and the content is superb.

For those of you unaware, the Google Lunar XPRIZE is a prize competition in which teams of scientists, designers, and creators are aiming to open the door to "a new era of affordable access to the Moon and beyond." There are 16 teams, each racing to create an unmanned spacecraft that's able to reach our moon, explore at least 500 meters, and is able to transmit high-definition video and images back to Earth.

All this before December 31st, 2017.

It's not going to be easy.

This series of videos shows what they've been doing and what they're up against.

For more information on the individual projects, you have only to head to SlashGear's archives. We've been reporting on and investigating the lot for quite some time now. Since the beginning, in fact. Have a peek at the timeline below!

See the most recent set of prizes (the first round) in our feature: the first $25M