The space agency has set an ambitious goal of sending astronauts back to the moon by 2024, and the crew will obviously have to go to the bathroom during the mission.
Toilet designs must also conserve water and “help maintain a pristine environment within the lander that is free of odors and other contaminants.”
“Bonus points will be awarded to designs that can capture vomit without requiring the crew member to put his head down the toilet,” according to the guidelines.
It should be able to support a crew of two astronauts for 14 days and allow the collected debris to be transferred for storage or disposal outside of the vehicle.
The toilet should be easy to clean and maintain and should have a response time of five minutes or less between uses. You also need to use less than 70 watts of power and make less noise than an average bathroom fan.
Space will also be a problem, so the toilet must weigh less than 33 pounds on Earth and be less than .12 cubic meters in volume.
The jackpot is $ 20,000 and the second and third place winners will receive $ 10,000 and $ 5,000. The deadline to submit the designs is August 17 and the winners will be announced in October.
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