The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office estimates that there are more than 23,000 pieces of orbital debris larger than 10 cm currently in orbit around the Earth. Smaller pieces number in the millions. That debris comes in many forms: sections of rockets jettisoned during launch, non-operational satellites, and shrapnel created by collisions or explosions. As of last year, the estimate for the total amount of material in orbit exceeds 8,000 metric tons (17 million pounds) with an estimated value in the tens of billions of dollars. As humanity pushes further out into space, this space debris presents an opportunity to make use of materials already in orbit, such as Aluminum, Titanium, Steel, Kevlar, Plastics, Silicon, Ceramics, Residual fuels, and other volatile liquids and gasses With this global ideation challenge, NASA seeks to inspire innovators of all ages, skills, and interests to consider how humanity can make use of these materials to explore the cosmos in a more sustainable and cost effective way. Remember: every kilogram of space debris that can be recycled is one less kilogram that needs to be launched, saving time, fuel, and money. The goal of this challenge is to explore whether recycling of space assets (sections of rockets, satellites, etc.) can be cost-effective versus launching new materials into space. Since launch costs increase proportionally with mass, recycling larger objects means that cost effectiveness will improve as more and more mass is recycled and reused while in orbit.
Award: $55,000 in total prizes
Open Date: March 29, 2022
Close Date: May 27, 2022
For more information, visit: https://nasaorbitalalchemy.techconnectventures.com/