The space agency's LunaRecycle Challenge is looking for the brightest minds to figure out a way to recycle plastics, foams and metals left behind by ongoing activity and building in space.
"NASA is eager to see how reimagining these materials can be helpful to potential future planetary surface missions," said Jennifer Edmunson, acting program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
"I'm confident focusing on the most critical trash items -- and integration of the prototype and digital twin competition tracks -- will yield remarkable solutions," Edmunson added, "that could enable a sustainable human presence off-Earth and transform the future of space exploration."
As the United States discusses replacing the International Space Station and placing a small nuclear reactor on the moon, the potential for increased waste in space is growing.
LunaRecycle's Phase 1 competition attracted record-breaking interest with more than 1,200 registrations. Seventeen teams, from five countries and nine U.S. states, were named winners in that challenge.
For Phase 2, only U.S. individuals and teams may participate and must build a physical prototype to manage a year's worth of trash. The challenge estimates a crew of four astronauts would produce more than 4,600 pounds of single-use waste to include food packaging and discarded clothing. The goal for competitors is to recycle the waste, while minimizing crew time and any hazards.
Submissions for NASA's LunaRecycle milestone round, which is being administered by the University of Alabama, are open now and due January 2026. Finalists from that round will be announced in February with up to 20 finalists competing in the challenge's in-person prototype demonstrations next August. Successful solutions in both rounds could net winners cash prizes totaling $2 million.
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