NASA is looking for students from accredited colleges and universities across the United States to solve a dust cloud problem during the moon landing, with a $10,000 grand prize up for grabs.
“The moon is covered in a coarse-grained, rocky material called regolith, which can be lifted from the surface during landing and ascent. Understanding and reducing these effects are key challenges […] for safe access to the lunar surface,” said lead researcher Ashley Korzun of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, in a statement released last week.
Not only would this dust create a more difficult landing environment, but it would also damage any infrastructure the US space agency plans to build on the lunar surface, she continued.
NASA has asked students at accredited colleges and universities across the United States to find solutions to manage or prevent dust clouds from landing on an “unprepared” surface like that of the moon, it said in its press release.
The US Federal Space Agency will select 12 teams to compete in the first Human Lander Challenge in June 2024 in Huntsville, Alabama.
Each team is paid $7,000 to create a technical document and design mockups or prototypes to be presented to a panel of experts.
The winning team will take home $10,000, while 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded $5,000 and $3,000 respectively.