Local rocket science goes for the moon

Watering one’s garden with a liquid oxygen nozzle may seem a little strange. A little… unreasonable.

Such oddities make perfect sense to engineer Paul T. Breed, who is safely testing equipment for the rocket he is building with his son Paul A. Breed, 20, in their Solana Beach garage.

“Being reasonable is no fun,” Breed Jr. said. “Being normal is no fun.”

The father-son team is competing in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, a $2 million competition requiring a vehicle to simulate trips between the moon’s surface and lunar orbit. The NASA-sponsored competition will take place Oct. 27 to 28 during the Wirefly X Prize Cup at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

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Photo Credit: Laura Petersen