The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking solution to a different problem. The space agency is willing to pay $3 million to anyone who can propose a solution to recycling nearly 100 bags of human waste in space. Yes, you heard that right. The space agency's LunaRecycle Challenge seeks help from the public to develop technology that can recycle astronauts' faeces, urine, and vomit while on the moon or during extended space flights.

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Apollo missions since 1969 have left 96 bags of human waste on the moon. The aim of the LunaRecycle challenge, announced in partnership with the University of Alabama, is to find a solution to discard the waste and prevent the unwanted accumulation, including food packaging, used clothing, broken tools and more. The winning proposal will be utilised in future missions.

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"NASA is committed to sustainable space exploration. As we prepare for future human space missions, we need to consider how to minimize various waste streams, including solid waste. Additionally, we must find ways to store, process, and recycle waste in a space environment, so that little or no waste needs to be returned to Earth," the space agency wrote on its website.

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About the challenge

The challenge split in two separate tracks is open to teams and individuals worldwide, and participation is free. Track 1 requires designing a digital model of a full resource-recovery system capable of working in harsh lunar environments. While, Track 2 focuses on building and demonstrating a working prototype of a key component or subsystem that could be used in such a system.

Entrants can either take part in one or both tracks, with each track carrying a prize money. Notably, no work experience of NASA or any other space agencies is required to take part in the competition that is worth $3 million.