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Centennial Challenges

Learn more about Centennial Challenges https://www.nasa.gov/prizes-challenges-and-crowdsourcing/centennial-challenges/

Deep Space Food Challenge (2021) – Megan McArthur, a Hawaii-born oceanographer and engineer who spent seven months aboard the International...
A fair-skinned woman with dark brown hair smiles as she floats in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station. She is wearing a white t-shirt and gray cargo pants with a dark belt and a wristwatch. Floating in front of her are two avocados and four mini bell peppers. Behind her are many wires, mechanisms and storage containers affixed to the walls of the International Space Station corridor.
Deep Space Food Challenge (2023) – Alfalfa sprouts grow from a tray at the Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 2...
A black plastic tray full of green alfalfa sprouts is in full focus, taking up much of the photo. In the background, slightly out of focus, a white man is wearing a navy t-shirt and light blue gloves as he works on preparing some sprouts to be eaten as samples. The background includes a large white bowl full of greens, small sample cups, and a bottle of oil. Behind the man is an incubation station where his team’s food system is displayed.
3D-Printed Habitat Challenge (2017) – Members of the Pennsylvania State University 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge team test the durability of their...
Four men and one woman surround a 3D-printed dome. The dome is being durability-tested using sandbags and the weight of one of the men, who is dressed in a gray work jumpsuit and is raising his arms in victory. The other four team members clap and look happy with the results of the durability test. The team is inside a warehouse-like structure with high ceilings. A white and blue Penske cargo truck is parked behind the team. Next to the team is an orange mechanical arm.
Astronaut Glove Challenge (2009) – Challenge winner Peter Homer observes Johnson Space Center’s Spacesuit Designer, Amy Ross, as she tests...
3D-Printed Habitat Challenge (2018) – This digital mockup was created by Team AI. SpaceFactory, which shows how people could live,...
This is a digitally generated image mockup that shows three people inside a 3D-printed habitat. The subjects are wearing blue jumpsuits and are surrounded by white cabinetry and shelves in a circular room with a staircase ascending the back wall. A large plant grows in a clear enclosure on one of the shelves and sets of white gloves hang underneath. One of the subjects, a woman with long, dark brown hair, is kneeling on the floor as she tinkers with a small robot-like mechanism. Another subject, who has short dark hair, lays on the floor with their back to the camera as they hold a mechanism and type on a computer. The third subject, a man with long dark hair tied in a low bun, films the other two with a complex set of cameras.
Vascular Tissue Challenge (2016) – What if we could create thick, lab-generated tissue that can function metabolically inside a human...
Seven clear, rectangular bottles with blue screw-on caps are turned on their sides and stacked in a column of three and four inside a metal incubation chamber. Inside each of the bottles is a reddish liquid.
3D-Printed Habitat Challenge (2018) – This digital mockup was created by Team SEArch+/Apis Cor, which shows astronauts outside of what...
This is a digitally generated image mockup that shows three people outside a 3D-printed habitat on what is meant to look like the surface of Mars. The three subjects are wearing space suits and are walking around the rocky terrain with the habitat in the center of the image. The habitat is angular, with triangular openings and a vehicle affixed to a hatch on the left side. Rocky mountains are in the background, set against an orange-ish, dusty sky.
CO2 Conversion Challenge (2020) – NASA’s Centennial Challenges has an impact far greater than just space travel – just ask...
Two fair-skinned men stand facing the camera with their arms crossed over their chests. The man on the left is wearing a dark sweatshirt with a white text label on the left breast. He has shoulder-length curly brown hair and is wearing a navy New York Yankees baseball cap. The man on the right is wearing a white button-down shirt and a white undershirt. He has short, dark brown hair and is wearing wire-rimmed glasses. They stand in front of a laboratory-style workspace, with many plants and machines in the background.
Sample Return Robot Challenge (2016) – Who says a team needs to be comprised of several people? Toronto, Canada resident...
A light-skinned woman with long, dark hair sits on the turf of a football field as she types on a laptop. She is wearing a denim jacket, a white and black striped, blue pants, and black slip-on shoes. Next to her is her Sample Return Robot, which has six wheels, a camera at its front, and a silver metal box as its body. The robot is stationary on a wheeled cart. Behind the woman is a man in a tan, wide-brimmed hat, a light turquoise shirt, and long khaki pants. He is placing an unidentifiable object on a table further in the background. The sky is bright blue with few clouds.
Lunar Lander Challenge (2009) – Armadillo Aerospace, a spacecraft engineering startup based out of Mesquite, Texas, make final inspections on...
Three light-skinned men stand around a white rocket-like structure, which features a spherical object atop a four-legged metal stand. There are fuel tanks, valves, wires, and other mechanisms all over the body and base of the rocket. The men are each wearing blue jumpsuits and black and red safety headphones. Behind the group, out of focus, is a corn field and overcast sky.
Sample Return Robot Challenge (2013) – Outside the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, men marvel at one of the...
Three light-skinned men stand in front of a robot rover outside on a grassy lawn. A blue, partly cloudy sky is in the background, with several brick buildings in sight. The men are wearing red lanyards with white badges. The center man is slightly bending forward with his hand extended toward the robot. The robot is on six wheels with several wires and buttons affixed to it. The man on the left is holding a camera with a wind shield on a monopod.
Green Flight Challenge (2011) – A man waves a starting flag at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in...
With green mountains and a clear blue sky in the background, a man stands with his back to the camera as he waves a lime green flag. He is wearing a light blue shirt with long pants, a red vest, and a wide-brimmed hat. Another man, wearing dark shorts, a white t-shirt, a dark backpack, and a wide-brimmed hat stands off to the left. In front of the men is a large white aircraft with a center propeller and two cockpits on either side. Part of the aircraft’s name (Pipistrel-USA) is visible on the side in all-caps, with the NASA meatball logo near the center propeller.
Astronaut Glove Challenge (2009) – An advanced astronaut glove prototype is tested in a vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center...
In the foreground, there is a white glove that hovers inside a clear vacuum chamber. In the background, slightly out of focus, there is a light-skinned man with short, dark hair who is wearing clear protective glasses as his arm maneuvers the glove from outside the chamber. Behind the man is a blurry view of fluorescent lighting on the ceiling of a brightly-lit room.
Cube Quest Challenge (2017) – Two men capture satellite technology in action at the fourth Cube Quest Ground Tournament Competition,...
Two men stand in a room with spikes on the walls. They are each holding up a cell phone to take photos of a satellite antenna, which is above them in the top-right corner of the frame. One man is wearing a red button-down shirt and is smiling. The other, in a dark t-shirt, has a badge on his lapel.
Finalists beam with pride as they hold their Cube Quest Ground Tournament prize checks. One of these finalists, Team Miles,...
Five men stand and smile as they hold three large checks. On each check, the payer's name is NASA Centennial Challenges Cube Quest Challenge and includes an image of the NASA meatball logo. The recipient names on each check, from left to right, are CU-E3, Cislunar Explorers, and Team Miles. Each check is for $20,000 and is endorsed by Uncle Sam. The checks are dated for June 8, 2017, and the memo line reads “Ground Tournament 4 Winner” on each check.
Cube Quest Challenge (2017) – A member of Team CU-E3 assembles their CubeSat prototype, only as large as a shoe...
A light-skinned man leans over a CubeSat prototype as he works to assemble the device. His workstation is messily arranged with screws, screwdrivers, a marker, foam sheets, a desktop computer with data displayed on the screen, delicate task wipes, and other items commonly found in a science lab. The man is wearing an olive-green t-shirt and is focused on the prototype. In the background is a counter with other lab items on top of it, as well as white cabinets with supplies inside.
Deep Space Food Challenge (2023) – Two Challenge finalists prepare samples of their food system to share at the Phase...
Two white men with brunette hair, wearing navy blue t-shirts and black pants with sneakers, stand in front of a food system demonstration station comprised of nine incubator cubes with plants/vegetation inside. One of the men stands in front of a black table and, while wearing light blue gloves, spoons alfalfa sprouts from a large bowl into a small sample cup. Also on the table are wooden spoons, more sample cups, and a tray of alfalfa sprouts. Behind the demonstration station are three navy backdrops, which include affiliated logos and graphic demonstrations showing how the food system works.
Deep Space Food Challenge (2023) – Team Enigma of the Cosmos has a little fun in between testing and showcasing...
Seven adults stand in various poses in a room full of technological equipment, crop incubators with magenta lights, and research stations. From left to right: a dark-haired woman stands in a wide, twisted stance and holds a rubber mallet in the air; a man with short dark hair and tattoos on his right arm stands facing forward and playfully holds a caulk gun to his mouth; a man with long dark hair and a beard squats down low and holds a drill; a man with short dark hair and glasses stands in a wide stance and holds the hose of a shop vacuum over his head; a man with short dark hair and a beard kneels down low and holds a drill; a man with short dark hair stands slightly behind the group and holds a small screwdriver-like object; a man with short dark hair, a beard, and glasses stands in a natural pose and holds a temperature gun in his left hand and a thin pole in his right hand.
Deep Space Food Challenge (2023) – A competitor makes final observations of their food system sample through a microscope. Intense...
An aerial view of a white table with several items on it: from left to right, there is a black incubator with a glass cover, a silver laptop showing a black screen, a microscope, two chemistry flasks whose openings are covered with aluminum foil, a petri dish with a light orange substance inside, and two white containers with yellow labels and black writing. A person wearing black gloves, a white PPE suit and a hairnet looks through the microscope.
Intrepid Systems Team member Mark Curry, right, answers questions from 8th grade Sullivan Middle School (Mass.) students about his robot...
Sample Return Robot Challenge (2012) – Eighth graders from Lowell Massachusetts’ Sullivan Middle School get a lesson in robotics from Mark Curry, an independent robot builder who sought to create a rover that can identify, collect and return samples from Mars.