Through its newly launched LunaRecycle Challenge, NASA is inviting scientists, engineers, and innovators from around the world to develop technologies that can convert these long-abandoned waste bags—containing feces, urine, and vomit—into usable resources such as water, energy, or fertilizer.
The waste, jettisoned during Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972 to make room for lunar samples, remains untouched on the lunar surface. As NASA prepares for long-term human presence on the Moon through the Artemis program, sustainable waste management has become a top priority.
“NASA is committed to sustainable space exploration. As we prepare for future human space missions, there will be a need to consider how various waste streams, including solid waste, can be minimized—as well as how waste can be stored, processed, and recycled in a space environment so that little or no waste will need to be returned to Earth,” the agency said in a statement.
“The challenge also can influence and inspire better approaches and outcomes for terrestrial recycling—through entirely novel approaches, through processes that improve efficiency and reduce toxic outputs, and through smaller-scale technologies that could be deployed in communities around the globe,” it added.
The competition, which closed on March 31, called for innovative technologies capable of handling not just legacy waste, but all solid waste generated during future missions and lunar habitation.NASA hopes that the challenge will spark breakthroughs not only for space exploration but also for waste recycling on Earth. The agency emphasized that solutions might lead to novel, small-scale systems for communities worldwide—cutting down toxic outputs and improving efficiency in terrestrial recycling.Now in the evaluation phase, the agency is reviewing submissions and will soon shortlist top proposals for further development. The winning team will be awarded $3 million (approximately £2.4 million).
As humanity sets its sights on returning to the Moon—and staying—NASA’s lunar recycling challenge marks a key step in turning yesterday’s trash into tomorrow’s tools.
