NASA will announce the winners of the final phase of its LunaRecycle Challenge on Friday, Aug. 28, at The University of Alabama (UA) Lee Styslinger College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Launched in 2024, the challenge incentivizes the invention of new recycling systems that could support non-metabolic waste management efforts for future lunar missions.
Media and the public are invited to the challenge’s Technology Showcase and Winners Announcement, where up to 14 finalist teams will showcase their solutions and hear from NASA and UA leadership about the future of lunar innovation. Opening remarks will begin at 8:30 a.m. CDT on Aug. 28, in Room 1026 of H.M. Comer Hall on the UA campus.
Media interested in covering the event should confirm their attendance with the NASA Marshall newsroom by 3 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 27, at: joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov.
The LunaRecycle Challenge is a $3 million, two-phase competition focused on the design and development of recycling solutions that can reduce non-metabolic waste and improve the sustainability of longer-term lunar missions. In the Final Round of Phase 2, invited teams were tasked with refining their prototype and digital twin concepts in preparation for live testing at McAbee Construction in Tuscaloosa earlier this month.
After this event, up to 11 teams will receive a portion of the $1.325 million prize purse from NASA for their prototype and digital twin solutions. The top two prototypes will earn $500,00 and $225,000, while top two digital twins will receive $275,000 and $125,000. Up to six Technical Achievement Prizes will be awarded to teams who excel in categories determined by the judging panel during final deliberations. Additionally, a $25,000 People’s Choice Award will be presented to the team who receives the most votes from the public and stakeholders throughout the Technology Showcase.
Winners will be announced live during the Technology Showcase closing ceremony, which begins at 12 p.m.
The LunaRecycle Challenge is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center by Centennial Challenges, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate. NASA’s Centennial Challenges have a legacy of more than 20 years engaging the public to solve complex problems that benefit NASA’s broader initiatives. Past challenges have spurred advances in robotics, additive manufacturing, power and energy, textiles, chemistry, and biology.
Phase 1 of the competition received record-breaking interest from the global innovator community. The challenge received more than 1,200 registrations – more than any competition in the 20-year history of Centennial Challenges – and a panel of 50 judges evaluated nearly 200 submissions. Seventeen teams were selected as Phase 1 winners, representing five countries and nine U.S. states, announced via livestream on NASA Marshall’s YouTube channel.
The LunaRecycle Challenge also is supported by recycling subject matter experts at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The University of Alabama Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering executes the challenge in partnership with NASA.
To learn more about the LunaRecycle Challenge visit:
Facts Only
* Winners of the LunaRecycle Challenge will be announced on Friday, August 28.
* The event will be held at The University of Alabama (UA) Lee Styslinger College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
* The challenge incentivizes the invention of recycling systems for non-metabolic waste management for lunar missions.
* Media and the public are invited to the Technology Showcase and Winners Announcement.
* Up to 14 finalist teams will showcase solutions.
* Opening remarks start at 8:30 a.m. CDT on August 28, in Room 1026 of H.M. Comer Hall.
* The competition is a $3 million, two-phase event focused on recycling solutions for lunar sustainability.
* Up to 11 teams will receive portions of the $1.325 million prize purse.
* Top two prototypes will earn $500,00 and $225,000; top two digital twins will receive $275,000 and $125,000.
* Up to six Technical Achievement Prizes will be awarded.
* A $25,000 People’s Choice Award will be presented.
* Phase 1 received over 1,200 registrations and involved 50 judges evaluating nearly 200 submissions.
* Seventeen teams were selected as Phase 1 winners from five countries and nine U.S. states.
* The challenge is managed by Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Executive Summary
NASA will announce the winners of the LunaRecycle Challenge on Friday, August 28, at The University of Alabama (UA) Lee Styslinger College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The challenge incentivizes the invention of recycling systems for non-metabolic waste management in future lunar missions. Media and the public are invited to a Technology Showcase and Winners Announcement where up to 14 finalist teams will present their solutions and receive information from NASA and UA leadership.
The competition is a $3 million, two-phase event focused on designing recycling solutions to improve sustainability for long-term lunar missions. Invited teams in the Final Round of Phase 2 refined prototypes ahead of live testing at McAbee Construction. Prizes include monetary awards for prototypes and digital twins, along with Technical Achievement Prizes and a People’s Choice Award based on public voting. Winners will be announced live during the Technology Showcase closing ceremony at 12 p.m.
The challenge is managed by Centennial Challenges within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate, with support from subject matter experts at NASA facilities and the University of Alabama College of Engineering. Phase 1 saw over 1,200 registrations, resulting in seventeen Phase 1 winners from five countries and nine U.S. states.
Full Take
The structure of the competition, moving from broad global engagement (Phase 1 registrations) to specific, high-value final outcomes (prototype/digital twin awards), suggests a deliberate pattern of building public interest and stakeholder value around a complex scientific goal. The focus on "non-metabolic waste management" positions the challenge at the intersection of practical engineering and existential long-term space sustainability.
The emphasis on tangible prizes—especially for prototypes and digital twins—serves to translate abstract scientific goals into concrete, recognizable achievements. This mechanism links public incentive directly to NASA's R&T mission, establishing a clear pathway where innovation is rewarded with significant financial recognition. The pattern involves using the legacy of Centennial Challenges to create an ongoing engagement loop that feeds research development.
The involvement of multiple external entities, such as recycling experts from NASA and experts at Kennedy Space Center and Ames Research Center, alongside the execution by the University of Alabama, reveals a distributed authority structure where credibility is established through collaboration rather than singular decree. The challenge operates by leveraging an appeal to shared scientific curiosity (the vast interest in space exploration) to mobilize resources toward specific technological solutions. A key implication is how effectively this mechanism manages expectations: translating multi-million dollar aspirations into quantifiable design challenges for a diverse international pool of innovators.
Bridge Questions: What metrics beyond the monetary prizes best measure the success of these recycling systems in a real lunar environment? How does the emphasis on digital twins influence the practical implementation versus theoretical conceptualization of the solutions? Does this model effectively scale engagement beyond specialized engineering communities to broader societal interests in space technology?