NASA is offering $3 million to anyone who can help them solve an important space problem

NASA needs your help, and they are offering $3 million (£2.3 million) if you are able to solve this tricky space problem with them.

The space agency is asking the public for help on how to deal with space rubbish.

As NASA prepares to launch new missions to the Moon in the near future, space experts are also looking at ways to improve sustainability as part of the LunaRecycle Challenge. And what does this particular mission involve, you ask? It’s all about finding ways to process different types of waste, food packaging, old clothes and materials from science experiments during long-term space missions.

The LunaRecycle Challenge is a two-phase competition anyone can enter to provide help and suggestions on this very important matter.

Amy Kaminski, program executive for NASA's Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program, explained: “Operating sustainably is an important consideration for NASA as we make discoveries and conduct research both away from home and on Earth.

"With this challenge, we are seeking the public’s innovative approaches to waste management on the Moon and aim to take lessons learned back to Earth for the benefit of all.”

NASA is preparing to return humans to the Moon Photo by v2osk on Unsplash

NASA wants to ensure little or no waste will have to be returned to Earth after its space missions. The LunaRecycle Challenge offers a total prize of $3 million.

Kim Krome, acting program manager for agency’s Centennial Challenges, and challenge manager of LunaRecycle, said: “We are very excited to see what solutions our global competitors generate, and we are eager for this challenge to serve as a positive catalyst for bringing the agency, and humanity, closer to exploring worlds beyond our own.”

The competition comes as NASA continues to work toward human space travel over a lengthy period of time, which includes establishing a longstanding human presence on the Moon through its Artemis missions. NASA is targeting September 2025 for Artemis II, in which four astronauts will perform a flyby of the Moon and return to Earth.

With Artemis III, which is set to launch no earlier than September 2026, NASA plans to land humans on the moon. Humans have not touched down on the its surface since December 1972 as part of the Apollo 17 mission.

To register as a participant in the LunaRecycle Challenge, visit the link here.

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