The Tholos, the Virtual Reality Theater of the Hellenic Cosmos, was selected this year, along with 120 planetariums worldwide, to showcase the digital film “Return to the Moon... Forever!” from the Google Lunar X Prize! It is worth noting that the Tholos is the only virtual reality theater selected in the Balkans and the wider region of Southeastern Europe, while most of the other planetariums are located in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The Google Lunar X is the largest global competition ever conducted, currently running worldwide with the goal of creating new opportunities for human and robotic presence on the Moon. Teams from around the world are competing to send and land a space robot on the Moon, motivated by the largest prize in history: $30 million!

This global competition aims to continue space exploration not by governments or countries, but by the citizens of the world themselves! The digital film “Return to the Moon... Forever!” tells the story of these teams' efforts: To win the Google Lunar X Prize, a team must land a robotic spacecraft, move it 500 meters on the Moon's surface, and send digital material back to Earth.

The film begins with the first period of space exploration, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. During this time, viewers discover the findings that this initial period of Moon exploration offered on topics such as its origin, composition, structure, and access to raw materials on its surface.


Next, the audience follows the steps of innovation and engineering taken by the teams currently participating in the competition, highlighting the human spirit of competition and collaboration as the teams progress in this bold challenge: Who will win the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE? The audience witnesses a successful launch, landing, and journey on the Moon's surface. The film concludes with a spectacular possible vision of our future on the Moon.