2 min read
0 comments
NASA's "LunaRecycle" challenge seeks to transform astronaut waste from Apollo missions into water, energy and fertilizer; winning proposal will be applied to the Artemis program.
NASA is willing to pay $3 million to anyone who can solve a disgusting but scientific problem: recycling 18 bags of feces, urine and vomit left on the Moon by astronauts on the Apollo missions between 96 and 1969. The material, abandoned more than half a century ago to reduce weight in the spacecraft, could now become an essential resource for future lunar bases.
The bags, discarded during the six Apollo missions that landed on the Moon, contain about 250 kg of human waste. According to NASA, the challenge is to transform them into water (H2O), gases such as methane and hydrogen (for energy) or fertilizers, using technology applicable in space.
How to turn feces into energy? NASA seeks innovative solutions
The “LunaRecycle Challenge” requires proposals to meet strict technical criteria:
- 51.200-year-old cave painting in Indonesia is oldest example of visual storytelling in rock art
- US warns of possibility of Chinese army with genetically modified soldiers and artificial intelligence support, according to official report
- New Chinese company arrives in Brazil and will generate 500 jobs: Realme opens the first factory in Latin America with the capacity to produce up to 20.000 cell phones per day
- Being nice and saying 'please' and 'thank you' to ChatGPT is costing OpenAI thousands of dollars
- Process waste in a lunar environment (temperatures from -170°C to 120°C and extreme radiation);
- Ensure energy efficiency (maximum 1 kWh per kg of waste);
- Extract at least 50% recyclable water per bag.
Apollo vs Artemis missions: the legacy of waste in space exploration
During Apollo 11, Armstrong and Aldrin left not just footprints on the moon, but 12 bags of excrement. Now, with the Artemis program planning permanent bases by 2030, NASA wants to prevent the accumulation of biological waste. “We want lunar sustainability,” the agency said in a statement.
LunaRecycle Challenge: Technical Criteria and $3 Million Prize
Applications for the challenge are open until September 2025. NASA will divide the prize into three phases:
- US$1 million for the best functional prototype;
- US$1,5 million for testing in a simulated environment;
- US$500 for integration into real missions.
In addition to the risk of contamination by terrestrial bacteria, the bags represent a unique opportunity to study the survival of microorganisms in space. Preliminary technical data suggests that some of the material is still preserved, protected by the lunar vacuum.
If “LunaRecycle” succeeds, NASA will not only solve a historic problem, but create a milestone for missions manned missions to Mars. As one agency engineer pointed out: “In space, even poop becomes a strategic resource.”
