Have you ever wondered how astronauts managed to stay in space for so long without running out of resources or suffocating in their own waste? NASA is also curious about such things - especially when people start living on Mars.
HeroX, the top crowdsourcing platform, has introduced two new incentive challenges to assist NASA in addressing this question. There's the "Waste to Base Materials Challenge: Sustainable Reprocessing in Space," which is looking for creative ways to deal with all of the waste produced during long-duration spaceflights.
Waste Sustainability on Outer Space
Launch windows to Mars occur when Earth and Mars are closest to each other in their orbits every 26 months. This was according to several mission concepts - including NASA's Journey to Mars and Moon to Mars. During these times, a round voyage will take anything from a year to 18 months, resulting in a two- to three-year mission duration. Aside from food, drink, and oxygen, a long-duration expedition will produce a lot of garbage (human and et cetera).
Because of the complexity and cost of sending resupply missions to destinations in deep orbit, Mars missions will need to be as self-sufficient as feasible. While there are ways to ensure a constant (and even regenerating) supply of food, water, and air, garbage is a cumulative issue with no long-term remedies. The Waste to Base Materials Challenge seeks to transform human waste, packaging, and other rubbish into items that astronauts may use on the journey.
Eligibility, Materials Needed
Space.com said the materials include but are not limited to fuel, 3D printing feedstock, and other valuable materials that can be cycled several times. HeroX and the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL) are asking for concepts for waste-management systems that produce little to no trash, with a prize pool of $24,000. In the long run, NASA hopes to integrate all planned processes into a single, strong ecosystem that will allow spacecraft to launch from Earth with minimal resources (thereby minimizing launch mass).
Each category will have many winners, each of whom will be granted a $1,000 reward. The judges will name four concepts "best in class," and each will receive a $1000 reward. The award is accessible to anybody 18 or older from any nation competing as an individual or a team, as long as U.S. government penalties do not impede competition (some additional restrictions may apply).
Full eligibility rules may be found on the contest website. In general, anybody 18 years of age or older from any country worldwide is eligible to compete individually or as part of a team, as long as their jurisdiction is not subject to U.S. federal penalties, according to HeroX.
Visit HeroX's Challenge Page for additional information and register for the challenge.
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