Nasa launches a competition open to all: $3 million up for grabs

Nasa launches a rather special competition, open to all. And if you find the solution to the challenge, you could hit the jackpot!

Recently, the American space agency sent a new probe, named "Athena", to the Moon. The goal? To drill the ground using various instruments to search for water and other resources. The Artemis III mission also aims to return humans to the Moon in two years, in 2027. Furthermore, Nasa intends to create permanent bases on Earth's natural satellite; these will serve as transitional steps to go to Mars, reports Linternaute.

In order for the mission to be a real success, the space agency is launching a special challenge, open to everyone (not just scientists). What's at stake? $3 million, or nearly 2.8 million euros for those who take on the challenge.

Be aware, the "LunaRecycle Challenge" will end on 31 March 2025.

Goodbye waste

Finding new solutions for sorting waste (clothing, experimental instruments, food packaging...) generated by lunar missions, that's the aim of the competition. Nasa states: "As we prepare for future manned space missions, we will have to think about how the different waste streams, including solid waste, can be minimized, as well as how waste can be stored, processed, and recycled in a space environment so that little or no waste needs to be sent back to Earth." Until now, astronauts have been tasked with storing certain waste to bring it back and recycle it on Earth. For missions on the Moon, this system will no longer be sufficient.

A two-step competition

The competition consists of two phases. As reported by Linternaute, the first phase will focus on building prototypes, on "the design and development of hardware components and systems for recycling". Two months later, Nasa will announce a grand winner and set up the second phase of the challenge, around digitization, "the design of a virtual replica of a complete system for recycling solid waste streams on the lunar surface and manufacturing finished products". You can participate in both parts or just one, your choice.

In a statement, Amy Kaminski, head of Nasa's Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program, emphasizes: "With this challenge, we seek to make the public aware of innovative approaches to waste management on the Moon and want the lessons learned to be applied on Earth for the benefit of everyone."

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source: Linternaute - Illustration: ©Unsplash)