NASA is holding the LUNAR LOO CHALLENGE, a contest to design a toilet that can be used on the moon.
Yes, this will truly be a situation to “go, where nobody has ever gone before.”
Contest entries are due by August 17, 2020, and the winner will receive $35,000 (and possibly “an item of official NASA merchandise”).
NASA is fairly clear: space toilets are not new. But putting one on the moon is a bit complicated. Toilet facilities have evolved from the simplistic Ziploc-bag style containment system used on early space flights to the fancier toilets used on the International Space Station today
The requirements for the new space toilet contest are clear:
- Reduce the size of the current toilet to 31kg
- Reduce the volume by 70%.
- Must be usable in both lunar gravity and microgravity situations
- Entries will be judged on technical maturity, safety, and overall innovation.
Read more about the challenge, and submit your entry here: https://www.nasa.gov/lunar-loo-challenge (alternative link: https://www.herox.com/LunarLoo)