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When the Artemis program astronauts land on the Moon in 2026, they will be responsible for building their home. Following the wasteful (albeit extraordinary) space excursion that was Project Apollo, NASA is determined that, this time round, the astronauts will make use of recycled materials. Recycling on the Moon is not easy, however. The lunar environment makes many processes more difficult. Astronauts will be subject to more physical limitations than people trying to recycle on Earth.
In answer to this problem, NASA has launched a competition asking entrants to come up with creative ideas for how astronauts can recycle materials once they land on the Moon. Curious? Check out this gallery to find out more.
In 2025, NASA’s Artemis program plans to return humans to the Moon. More than 50 years on from the first Moon landing, things are set to look quite different this time around.
When the astronauts from Project Apollo landed on the Moon for the first time ever, it was a momentous occasion for science and, indeed, mankind.
However, it was not a sustainable endeavor. In fact, there is a laundry list of items that the astronauts simply discarded on the lunar surface before leaving.
From bags of urine to family photos, the Apollo team left behind whatever they could. They needed to make themselves as light as possible for the journey home.
No one would blame them, of course. The 1969 Moon landing is up there with the greatest achievements of mankind, and in the 1960s recycling was not much of a topic.
However, when astronauts walk on the Moon again as part of the Artemis program, NASA plans to make the excursion as sustainable as possible.
The astronauts will need to build a place for themselves to live. The plan is to build as much of it as possible from recycled materials.
In today's context, it does not seem necessary to explain the environmental benefits of using recycled materials to build a home for astronauts on the Moon.
However, it is worth pointing out the economic benefit. The first thing to understand is that flying anything from the Earth to the Moon is very expensive.
According to NASA project manager Jennifer Edmunson, it costs between US$1 million and $1.2 million to send a single kilogram (about 2.2 lbs) on that journey.
Therefore, there is a clear economic benefit to astronauts recycling as many materials as they can once they land on the Moon.
Enter: LunaRecycle, NASA’s US$3 million competition that focuses on the design and development of lunar recycling solutions.
Entrants have been asked to come up with innovative ways to recycle materials, such as bubble wrap or fabric, that astronauts can use to build their home on the Moon.
For example, an entrant might find a creative way to transform a food package into a piece of cutlery or even a work of art. The idea is for the lunar habitat to be homey.
NASA’s aim is not to use materials left behind by the Apollo team. Indeed, these are now considered valuable historical artifacts.
However, there are plenty of other solid materials that have been left behind on the Moon that are not, perhaps, quite so valuable.
For example, there are several crashed lunar satellites currently on the Moon that could be stripped for parts and used as construction materials.
The task of converting these materials into something useful is not simple, however. On the one hand, the low gravity on the Moon can make it difficult to separate materials.
On the other hand, the dust on the Moon (sometimes referred to as "lunar dust") gets in the way of moving machinery, and is a general nuisance.
The conditions that make it difficult to recycle materials on the Moon are the reason that NASA has started this challenge. They want to receive ideas from people from different walks of life.
The current challenge focuses on the recycling of non-toxic materials. However, it is worth noting that when it comes to other types of lunar recycling, a lot of progress has already been made.
This means that almost all the liquid waste produced by the astronauts, including their urine, sweat, and moisture from their breath, is recycled back into drinking water.
This type of recycling, which may not sound particularly appealing, but which is very efficient, is called a "closed-loop recycling system." Almost everything humans produce is recycled into something useful.
On Earth, we already use this sort of biological recycling in farming, where we often use animal or human waste to fertilize crops.
If eventually we want to grow food on the Moon, which will almost certainly be necessary, it could make sense to use the astronauts’ waste as fertilizer.
The scientists at NASA are very excited about the LunaRecycle challenge and all the ideas for lunar sustainability that people will undoubtedly impress them with.
And even better, the entries may even inspire scientists to come up with better solutions for reusing materials here on Earth.
Sources: (BBC) (NASA)
See also: Things that have been left on the Moon
NASA's recycling ambitions on the Moon
NASA is betting on recycled resources to support life beyond Earth
LIFESTYLE Space
When the Artemis program astronauts land on the Moon in 2026, they will be responsible for building their home. Following the wasteful (albeit extraordinary) space excursion that was Project Apollo, NASA is determined that, this time round, the astronauts will make use of recycled materials. Recycling on the Moon is not easy, however. The lunar environment makes many processes more difficult. Astronauts will be subject to more physical limitations than people trying to recycle on Earth.
In answer to this problem, NASA has launched a competition asking entrants to come up with creative ideas for how astronauts can recycle materials once they land on the Moon. Curious? Check out this gallery to find out more.