NASA will announce the winners of its LunaRecycle Challenge on Friday, Aug. 28, at The University of Alabama Lee Styslinger College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa, concluding a competition to develop waste management systems for future lunar missions.
NASA reported that up to 14 finalist teams will demonstrate their solutions during a public Technology Showcase. Opening remarks begin at 8:30 a.m. CDT in Room 1026 of H.M. Comer Hall on the university campus, with the closing ceremony and live announcement of winners scheduled for 12 p.m. Media representatives must confirm attendance with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center newsroom by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
NASA will distribute a $1.325 million prize purse among up to 11 teams across prototype and digital twin tracks. The top two prototype systems will receive $500,000 and $225,000, while the leading two digital twin designs will earn $275,000 and $125,000. Judges will also assign up to six Technical Achievement Prizes, alongside a $25,000 People's Choice Award decided by attendee votes. Finalists refined their designs ahead of live testing conducted earlier this month at McAbee Construction in Tuscaloosa.
Centennial Challenges manages the $3 million program from Marshall Space Flight Center as part of NASA's Research and Technology Mission Directorate. Subject matter experts from Kennedy Space Center and Ames Research Center assist the competition, which is executed alongside The University of Alabama. During Phase 1, the competition drew more than 1,200 registrations and nearly 200 submissions evaluated by a 50-judge panel, yielding 17 initial winning teams from five countries and nine U.S. states.
