Star Wars: Episode VII director J. J. Abrams has teamed with Virunga  helmer Orlando von Einsiedel for a digital docuseries on Google’s US$30-million Lunar Xprize competition.

Titled Moon Shot, the nine-episode series follows the 16 private teams competing to design a rover, land it on the moon’s surface, drive it 500 meters across the landscape and then send high-definition video of the journey back to Earth by the end of 2017.

The series will be available for free on Google Play on March 15 and on YouTube on March 17.

Google’s competition, which kicked off in 2007, looks to usher in a new age of space exploration by enabling low-cost access to the moon. Teams participating in the event range from Silicon Valley tech experts and German hackers to Indian IT specialists and a Vancouver-based, father-son team.

Moon Shot gets access to each team’s preparations for the competition, and explores their reasons for taking part.

Von Einsiedel directed the series, while Abrams exec produced. Moon Shot is produced by Bad Robot and Epic Digital.

• Check out a trailer for the docuseries below: