NASA has announced a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the grand prize winner of Phase 2 of its LunaRecycle Challenge. This competition aims to develop innovative solutions for reducing waste during space missions by recycling everyday materials like fabrics, plastics, foam, and metals.
The winning team, known as CERBERUZ (Composites for Extraterrestrial Recycling By Engineering the Reuse and Upcycling of Zotek), comprises undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students from MIT. They have secured a total of $775,000 in awards for their groundbreaking technology.
The CERBERUZ system works by grinding mixed waste into a fine powder. Instead of discarding materials like Zotek foam, it's repurposed as reinforcement. This powder can then be used as feed for injection-molded parts or as filament for 3D printing. The MIT team achieved success in both the prototype development track and the virtual model, or "digital twin," track of the competition.
"The LunaRecycle Challenge finale is the culmination of two years of innovation spurred by this competition," stated Jennifer Edmunson, program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. "It’s incredible to see these technologies go from concept to prototype and digital twin demonstrations in that time. Driving rapid and creative innovation is what NASA challenges are all about."
The LunaRecycle Challenge is a $3 million, two-phase competition, conducted in partnership with The University of Alabama's Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering. Phase 2 specifically required U.S. teams to submit a working prototype, with the option to include a digital twin as a virtual representation.
During Phase 2, 14 finalist teams from across the United States convened at The University of Alabama's College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa from August 24-28 to showcase their technology prototypes. Several teams also presented their digital twin models alongside their physical demonstrations.
Participants in the competition came from diverse backgrounds, including university students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and space technology enthusiasts. A key aspect of the challenge was to encourage solutions that could not only address waste in deep space but also find practical applications on Earth.
In addition to the first-place winner, nine other teams received awards:
Prototype Track Winners:
- Second Place Overall ($225,000): Terasynth (Orlando, Fla.) for their Lunar Re-Forge System.
- Most Innovative ($50,000): RECLAIM (Penn State University) for their Resource Extraction and Conversion from Lunar Anthropogenic Inputs with Microwaves (RECLAIM) system.
- Highest Mass Efficiency ($50,000): Cislune (Rosemead, Calif.) for their Carbon Recovery and Feedstock Transformation for Extraterrestrial Reuse (CRAFTER) system.
- Most Trash Types Recycled ($50,000): Team Lovegrove (Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C.) for their LunaBrix system.
Digital Twin Track Winners:
- Second Place Overall ($125,000): Moon Made (Boulder, Colo.) for their Fiber Forge.
- Most Innovative ($25,000): RECLAIM (Penn State University) for their RECLAIM system.
- Best Visualization ($25,000): Waste Parrot Technologies (New York, N.Y.).
People's Choice Winner ($25,000):
- Terasynth (Orlando, Fla.) for their Lunar Re-Forge System.
“This competition highlights how collaborations can lead to incredible solutions,” said Chris Frangione, who manages the LunaRecycle Challenge. “Between the solver teams, The University of Alabama, and NASA, this finale showcases what can be achieved when we bring together resources and great ideas towards a common goal.”
The success of Phase 2 follows Phase 1 of the competition, which attracted unprecedented global interest, with over 1,200 registrations – a record for NASA's Centennial Challenges program over its 20-year history. In Phase 1, participants worldwide could submit designs for either or both prototype and digital twin tracks. A panel of 50 judges evaluated nearly 200 submissions, selecting 17 teams from five countries and nine U.S. states as winners. Phase 2 entries were required to be distinct from Phase 1 submissions.
The LunaRecycle Challenge is managed by Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, part of NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate. NASA's Centennial Challenges have a long-standing history of engaging the public to solve complex problems beneficial to NASA's broader goals, with past challenges driving advancements in areas like robotics, additive manufacturing, and biotechnology.
Subject matter experts from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Ames Research Center, and Langley Research Center also provided support for the LunaRecycle Challenge.
