If you are creative or passionate about space, this competition might interest you. There is even a contest for the youngest!
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To organize a new trip to the Moon, you have to think of everything, especially how to adapt everyday objects to this very special environment. Indeed, you have to “recreate” an object capable of functioning correctly despite lunar gravity, about six times less important than gravity on Earth but also in microgravity, which is colloquially called “zero G”.
A competition open to everyone!
If you can’t put your foot on the Moon, why not send one of your creations there? NASA has launched a funny contest that could get you there. The “Lunar Loo Challenge” is open to everyone until August 17. The big winner will win $ 20,000, the second will still pocket $ 10,000 and the third $ 5,000.
This cry for help is important to NASA because the International Space Station has many toilets, but they only work using a system of pipes and suction and the space agency intends to bring the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024 during the Artemis project, 55 years after Apollo 11.
If you are under 18, you can also participate in the “junior competition” reserved for the youngest. The selected project will be featured in a NASA article and the winner will also win goodies and a nice publicity stunt.
Many criteria to respect
To try to win the 20,000 dollars promised to the big winner, you will have to design lunar toilets. NASA details the many criteria that your creation must meet: less than 15 kg, maximum volume of 0.12 square meter, consumption less than 70 watts of power… And the list is long.
They must also be accessible to men and women and capable of collect one liter of urine and 500 grams of excrement, with an average of six uses per day. But there will also be other points appreciated by the jury.
“Bonus points will be given to designs capable of collecting vomiting without forcing the crew member to put their head down the toilet, said NASA. “
You therefore have more than a month to imagine the space toilets of the future. To discover the big winners and their inventions, visit September 30 on the NASA website.
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