NASA to Announce LunaRecycle Challenge Winners at University of Alabama

NASA is set to unveil the champions of its LunaRecycle Challenge on Friday, August 28th, at The University of Alabama (UA) Lee Styslinger College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This challenge, initiated in 2024, aims to foster the creation of novel recycling systems crucial for managing non-metabolic waste during upcoming lunar expeditions.

The public and media are invited to attend the event, which will feature a Technology Showcase and the Winners Announcement. Up to 14 finalist teams will present their groundbreaking solutions and hear insights from NASA and UA leaders regarding the future of lunar innovation. The proceedings commence at 8:30 a.m. CDT on August 28th in Room 1026 of H.M. Comer Hall on the UA campus.

Journalists interested in covering the event should RSVP with the NASA Marshall newsroom by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 27th, by contacting joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov.

The LunaRecycle Challenge is a significant $3 million, two-phase competition dedicated to designing and developing recycling solutions to minimize non-metabolic waste and enhance the sustainability of prolonged lunar missions. In the culmination of Phase 2, selected teams were tasked with perfecting their prototype and digital twin concepts in preparation for live testing conducted earlier this month at McAbee Construction in Tuscaloosa.

Following this event, a total of up to $1.325 million in prize money will be awarded by NASA to as many as 11 teams for their developed prototypes and digital twins. The top two prototypes will receive $475,000 and $200,000, respectively, while the leading two digital twins will be awarded $275,000 and $125,000. Additionally, up to six Technical Achievement Prizes will recognize teams demonstrating exceptional performance in specific categories as determined by the judging panel. A $25,000 People's Choice Award will also be presented to the team garnering the most public and stakeholder votes during the Technology Showcase.

The announcement of the winners will occur during the closing ceremony of the Technology Showcase, starting at 12 p.m.

The LunaRecycle Challenge is administered by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center through its Centennial Challenges program, which is part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate. For over two decades, NASA’s Centennial Challenges have successfully engaged the public in addressing complex issues that contribute to NASA's broader objectives, leading to advancements in fields such as robotics, additive manufacturing, power and energy, textiles, chemistry, and biology.

Phase 1 of the competition attracted unprecedented global interest, with over 1,200 registrations – a record for the 20-year history of Centennial Challenges. A panel of 50 judges reviewed nearly 200 submissions, selecting 17 Phase 1 winners from five countries and nine U.S. states, whose announcement was broadcast live on NASA Marshall’s YouTube channel.

Support for the LunaRecycle Challenge also comes from recycling experts at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. The University of Alabama Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering is a key partner with NASA in executing this challenge.

For more details on the LunaRecycle Challenge, please visit: https://www.nasa.gov/lunarecycle