As part of its efforts to send astronauts back to the moon in four years, NASA has launched a competition seeking design for the next-generation space toilet.
For example, space toilets are already in use at the International Space Station. However, these devices are designed to operate at almost zero gravity - otherwise known as microgravity - and have a fan-operated suction system to overcome the problem of constipation in these situations.
Known as the "Lunar Loo Challenge," NASA wants designers to come up with smaller, more efficient devices that work in microgravity and in the gravity of the moon - the sixth part of Earth. Urine and feces still fall under.
The design of the toilet should be relatively straightforward and should not exceed 4.2 cubic feet, making it easier to fit in a future lunar lander spacecraft, but less than 15 kilograms (33 lbs) of earth.
In addition, the design should be able to store different types of waste from men and women with urine, feces, vomiting, diarrhea, and various sizes of waste. It should be able to support the crew for 14 days while keeping the lander free of odors and other contaminants. In addition, the toilet must also conserve water, make no less than 60 decibels, and consume less than 70 watts of electricity.
Lastly, it is important that staff always void when using the toilet, or, in fact, any waste material they collect for that material. The system should also allow for the safe storage or disposal of spacecraft.
NASA said it will offer bonus points for designs that can catch sick staff members vomiting.
The Space Agency's Artemis program aims to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024, which will be the first major step toward establishing a permanent presence on the lunar surface, and eventually the mission of Mars on Mars.
NASA is already working on ways to compress and optimize existing space toilets. However, the aerospace company decided to open this challenge to the global community in hopes of achieving designs developed with a different approach to the traditional aerospace engineer.
Describing the challenge, NASA said, "This challenge is expected to attract fundamentally new and different perspectives on the issue of capturing and controlling human waste." "We want to inspire the next generation of astronauts, engineers and scientists."
NASA has announced a $ 35,000 prize for this competition. The winner will take home $ 20,000, while the second and third place students will receive $ 10,000 and $ 5,000, respectively.
There is also a junior category, for which you must be 18 or younger to enter. The space agency said it recognized that schoolchildren could face a design problem "without the same obstacles" as adults.
Each of the first three entries in the junior section receives an official goods item featuring the public identity and the iconic NASA logo.
The submission deadline is August 17th.
"We don't want people to say we know what an ISS toilet looks like, so we take a little more mass and make it more compact," Told the Guardian, NASA's Mike Interbartolo, Lunar Lou Challenge project manager. "We're looking out of the box. We want to hit those garage thinkers, the creator space community, and see what the unknown is."
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