There is an additional problem that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is trying to solve. Anyone who can come up with a solution to recycle over 100 bags of human waste in space will receive $3 million from the space agency. Through its LunaRecycle Challenge, the space agency is looking for public assistance to develop technology that can recycle astronauts' pee, vomit, and excrement while they are on the moon or on long space missions.

Since 1969, 96 bags of human garbage have been deposited on the moon by Apollo missions. The LunaRecycle competition, which was announced in collaboration with the University of Alabama, aims to identify ways to get rid of garbage and stop it from piling up. This includes broken tools, discarded clothing, food packaging, and more. Future missions will make use of the winning proposal.

 
"NASA is committed to sustainable space exploration. As we prepare for future human space missions, we need to consider how to minimize various waste streams, including solid waste," on its website, the space agency stated. "Additionally, we must find ways to store, process, and recycle waste in a space environment, so that little or no waste needs to be returned to Earth," the space agency wrote on its website."

Details of the challenge


Teams and individuals from all over the world can participate in the challenge, which is divided into two distinct tracks, for free. For Track 1, a digital model of a complete resource-recovery system that can function under adverse lunar conditions must be created.

The goal of Track 2 is to build and show a functional prototype of a crucial part or subsystem that might be incorporated into such a system.

Each track has a prize fund, and competitors may choose to compete in one or both. Notably, participation in the $3 million competition does not require any prior professional experience with NASA or any other space agency.

 

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