£1.2m Prize: Aqualunar Challenge Seeks to Purify Moon Water

The UK Space Agency has announced the launch of the Aqualunar Challenge, a £1.2 million international competition aimed at designing technologies to purify the water buried beneath the lunar surface. The challenge is being conducted in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency and Impact Canada, and will provide seed funding to UK-led start-ups to develop the necessary technologies for purifying the buried ice. The ultimate goal is to make human habitation on the Moon a viable possibility.

"Technologies developed for space exploration have a successful history of finding new uses on Earth," said Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency. "The UK is playing an important role in the NASA-led Artemis Missions, which aim to establish a permanent crewed base on the Moon’s surface by the end of the decade. This will only be possible if astronauts have reliable access to water and it is far better to source that water on the Moon than to send it up from Earth."

The Aqualunar Challenge aims to reward the development of technologies that can purify the ice locked inside the Moon's soil. While the focus is on the harsh lunar environment, these technologies could also have important applications on Earth. The deadline for entries is set for April 8, 2024.

In June 2024, the ten most promising ideas will be selected and awarded £30,000 each in seed funding to further develop their concepts. Then, in March 2025, three teams will be named as winners and runners-up, sharing an additional £300,000 to continue advancing their systems. The prize money will be split equally between UK-led teams and Canadian-led teams.

To participate in the challenge in the UK, interested individuals and teams can visit the official website at aqualunarchallenge.org.uk. Canadian-led teams should apply through the designated portal for their country.

"To survive on the Moon, astronauts will need water to drink and to grow food," explained Holly Jamieson, Executive Director of Challenge Works, which will help oversee the competition. "Water molecules (H2O) can also be split to produce oxygen for breathable air and hydrogen for fuel. For a long-term lunar base to be viable, we will need alternatives to sending deliveries of water, food, air, and fuel in rockets from Earth. The Aqualunar Challenge is calling on innovators, start-ups, scientists, academics, engineers, and problem solvers to submit their ideas, regardless of their previous experience in the space sector."

By encouraging the development of technologies to purify water on the Moon, the UK Space Agency is taking a significant step towards establishing a sustainable presence on our celestial neighbor. This initiative not only supports the ambitious Artemis Missions but also holds the potential for groundbreaking applications here on Earth.