NASA paying $3 million to anyone who figures out how to do this one thing in space

NASA is offering $3 million in prizes for innovators who can come up with smart solutions to improve the sustainability of longer-term lunar missions.

The US space agency recently announced its LunaRecycle Challenge – a ‘two-phase competition’ that is focused on designing and developing solutions for recycling material waste on deep space missions.

As part of its commitment to sustainable space exploration, NASA is on the hunt for bright sparks who can help the agency prepare for future human space missions. 

And those who are able to help could walk away with part of a whopping $3 million cash prize. 

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NASA has launched a new challenge

As you may be aware NASA is working towards building a ‘sustained human presence on the Moon’ through its Artemis missions.

In preparation for these missions, NASA has been involved in all sorts of futuristic and groundbreaking technologies, such as working on this reactor that converts moon dust into oxygen; and its humanoid robot, Valkyrie.

With its new competition, NASA hopes to attract the brightest minds to help come up with novel solutions for processing inorganic waste such as food packaging, old clothing, and science experiment materials. 

Previous efforts in this area have worked on reducing the mass and volume of rubbish, but this one will instead ‘prioritize technologies for recycling waste into usable products needed for off-planet science and exploration activities’.

“Operating sustainably is an important consideration for NASA as we make discoveries and conduct research both away from home and on Earth,” said Amy Kaminski, program executive for NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program. 

“With this challenge, we are seeking the public’s innovative approaches to waste management on the Moon and aim to take lessons learned back to Earth for the benefit of all.” 

It’s split into two different competition tracks

The challenge is made of two competition tracks: the Prototype Build track and the Digital Twin track.

The Prototype Build track focuses on the design and development of hardware components and systems for recycling waste streams on the Moon.

The second track is centered on creating a virtual replica of a complete system for recycling waste streams on the lunar surface. 

Those entering the challenge can submit to one or both tracks, each of which carries its own share of the prize money.

If you think you might have what it takes, you can check out the LunaRecycle Challenge website here.