NASA Offers $20,000 For Best Rescue Plan To Retrieve Trapped Astronauts Like Williams, Wilmore
Washington DC, US: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) now invites innovators to develop a life-saving Lunar Rescue System to save astronauts stranded on the Moon. The South Pole Safety Challenge: Lunar Rescue System is part of the agency’s Artemis mission, which faces challenges like extreme temperatures, bulky spacesuits, and uneven surfaces. It also offers up to $20,000 for the most effective design to safely transport a fully suited astronaut across the Moon’s rugged terrain.
It’s a perfect opportunity for someone with groundbreaking ideas to make an impact and grab the big win. Submissions of ideas are open until January 23, 2025, via the HeroX portal. With a total prize pool of $45,000, the best proposal will help address critical concerns as NASA gears up for the Artemis mission, scheduled for September 2026, said media report.
For submitting the application, interested candidates can go to the HeroX portal, where NASA usually posts its public challenge. Entries are open until January 25. The space agency’s experts and engineers will evaluate the submitted plan. Criteria such as the weight, ease, and impact on the astronaut’s new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Suit will be considered. Visit the official website for more information.
Also Read: Why Sunita Williams Couldn’t Return On SpaceX Homebound Capsule?
Saying that the unforgiving environment in the lunar surface pose unbeknownst challenges, the space agency is preparing for the possibility of an astronaut becoming incapacitated on the Moon due to injury, medical emergencies, or mission-related accidents. In such scenarios, crewmates will need a reliable method to transport them back to the lunar lander.
“The unforgiving lunar environment poses unique challenges that demand innovative solutions,” said Sarah Duglas from NASA, reported The Sun. Experts highlight that while the mission site was chosen partly for its water-ice reserves, the Moon’s surface remains a significant hurdle. Covered with sharp rocks, deep craters, and steep slopes, it is difficult to navigate even under optimal conditions.
The competition calls for a design capable of moving a fully suited astronaut over two kilometres, up a 20-degree incline, without using a rover. While the Moon’s lower gravity reduces the astronaut’s weight, it’s still too much for manual carrying, making a technological solution essential.
“The solution must perform effectively in the Moon’s extreme South Pole environment and operate independently of a lunar rover,” NASA explained.
Also Read: Astronaut Sunita Williams Is In “Good Health,” Says NASA
NASA’s five astronauts, including Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who went to Moon for 8 days, has been at the International Space Station (ISS) for months. They were unable to return due to trouble in the Boeing spaceship they went. Six months after, NASA was able to retrieve three of them, while Williams and Wilmore have to stay back. The eight day trip to space has turned to eight months.
NASA earlier had planned for Williams and Wilmore to return abroad with the Starliner capsule. However, early in the mission, gas leaks and thruster issues raised safety concerns, leading NASA to reassess the capsule’s reliability. The agency had arranged for their return on SpaceX’s crew-9 capsule.
The mission, which was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida’s Launch Complex 39A on March 5, featured a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tossing the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, into orbit. This marked the eighth commercial crew rotation mission to the ISS. Astronauts Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin’s journey to the ISS was a scientific expedition that included over 200 experiments and technology demonstrations.
