By Amit Asaravala | Wired.Com
02:00 AM May. 20, 2005 PT
The first team of scientists to invent a way to extract breathable
oxygen from lunar soil will be awarded $250,000, NASA announced on
Thursday.
The technology could be used by astronauts during a long-term stay
on the moon or modified to support a trip to Mars. The Bush
administration has made both missions a priority for NASA in a road
map called the Vision for Space Exploration.
"The use of resources on other worlds is a key element of the
Vision for Space Exploration," said NASA Associate Administrator
for Exploration Craig Steidle in a statement. "This challenge will
reach out to inventors who can help us achieve the vision
sooner."
Inventors who attempt the Moon Regolith Oxygen (or MoonROx)
challenge will have just eight hours to extract at least 11 pounds
of breathable oxygen from a simulated form of lunar soil.
Most participants are likely to build devices that use heat and
chemicals to coax the minerals in the soil into releasing the
oxygen molecules bound to them.
The teams have until June 1, 2008, to come up with the technology,
or the $250,000 prize is off the table, according to NASA.
The MoonROx contest is the third to be unveiled under the space
agency's new Centennial Challenges program. NASA hopes the program
will spark technical innovations, in the same way last year's
independent Ansari X Prize spurred the first private flight into
space.
In March, NASA announced awards of $50,000 each to the first teams
to develop a space-age tether and a wireless method for powering
robots.