Centennial Challenges: Difference between revisions

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NASA's Centennial Challenges are designed to promote technical innovation through a novel program of prize competitions. The program is designed to tap the nation's and world's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to support the [[NASA]] Vision for Space Exploration.
NASA's '''Centennial Challenges''' are designed to promote technical innovation through a novel program of prize competitions. The program is designed to tap the nation's and world's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to support the [[NASA]] Vision for Space Exploration.  On March 23, 2005 NASA announced the first Centennial Challenges.  These challenges are mananged by the Spaceward Foundation with prizes totaling $400,000 for the '''Tether Challenge''' and the '''Beam Power Challenge'''.


===First Centennial Challenges===
===Specific Centennial Challenges===


On March 23, 2005 NASA announced the first Centennial Challenge.  This challenge is mananged by the Spaceward Foundation with prizes totaling $400,000 for two categories of competitions:
* The [[Tether Challenge]] centers on the creation of a material that combines light weight and incredible strength. Under this challenge, teams will develop high strength materials that will be stretched in a head-to-head competition to see which [[Space Tether | tether]] is strongest.
 
* The [[Beam Power Challenge]] centers on the development of wireless power technologies for a wide range of exploration purposes, such as lunar exploration. In this challenge, teams will develop wireless power transmission systems, including both transmitters and receivers.  This power will be used to power robotic climbers to lift the greatest weight possible to the top of a 50-meter cable in under three minutes.
 
* The [[Regolith Excavation Challenge]] centers on ...


* The [[Tether Challenge]] centers on the creation of a material that combines light weight and incredible strength. Under this challenge, teams will develop high strength materials that will be stretched in a head-to-head competition to see which [[Space Tether | tether]] is strongest.
* The [[Moon Regolith Oxygen Challenge]] '''(MoonROx)''' centers on creating [[oxygen]] from an '''artificial lunar soil'''.  The competition will reward US$250,000 for a system capable of extracting 2.5 kilograms of oxygen from 100 kilograms of artificial lunar regolith in 4 hours or less. <ref>http://www.fsri.org/space_research_Moon_ROx.htm</ref>
 
* The [[Astronaut Glove Challenge]] centers on making a better glove for use in space.  The competition will reward US$250,000 to the team which designs and constructs the best-performing astronaut glove.
 
* The [[Personal Air Vehicle Challenge]] centers on ...


* The [[Beam Power Challenge]] focuses on the development of wireless power technologies for a wide range of exploration purposes, such as human lunar exploration and long-duration Mars reconnaissance. In this challenge, teams will develop wireless power transmission systems, including transmitters and receivers, to power robotic climbers to lift the greatest weight possible to the top of a 50-meter cable in under three minutes.
* The [[Lunar Lander Challenge]] centers on demonstrating the ability to takeoff and land vertically with launch energies equivalent to those be needed for a lunar lander.


===Current Centennial Challenges===
===Current Centennial Challenges===
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| Oct 2007 ||  [[Lunar Lander Challenge]] || $2M || [[X Prize | The X PRIZE Foundation ]]
| Oct 2007 ||  [[Lunar Lander Challenge]] || $2M || [[X Prize | The X PRIZE Foundation ]]
|-
|-
| Expires Jun 1, 2008 ||  [[Moon Regolith Oxygen (MoonROx) Challenge]] || $250K || California Space Education & Workforce Institute (CSEWI)
| Expires Jun 1, 2008 ||  [[Moon Regolith Oxygen Challenge]] (MoonROx) || $250K || California Space Education & Workforce Institute (CSEWI)
|}
|}


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* [[Space Elevator]]
* [[Space Elevator]]
* [[Rotovator]]
* [[Rotovator]]
* [[Armadillo Aerospace]]


===Media & Articles===
===Media & Articles===
 
* http://www.transterrestrial.com/archives/005525.html Transterrestrial Musing


===External Links & Related Organizations===
===External Links & Related Organizations===
* [http://www.spaceward.org/ Spaceward Foundation]
* http://www.spaceward.org/ Spaceward Foundation


===Media & Articles===
===Media & Articles===


[[Category:CZ Live]]
[[Category:Engineering Workgroup]]
[[Category:Engineering Workgroup]]

Revision as of 12:19, 29 April 2007

NASA's Centennial Challenges are designed to promote technical innovation through a novel program of prize competitions. The program is designed to tap the nation's and world's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to support the NASA Vision for Space Exploration. On March 23, 2005 NASA announced the first Centennial Challenges. These challenges are mananged by the Spaceward Foundation with prizes totaling $400,000 for the Tether Challenge and the Beam Power Challenge.

Specific Centennial Challenges

  • The Tether Challenge centers on the creation of a material that combines light weight and incredible strength. Under this challenge, teams will develop high strength materials that will be stretched in a head-to-head competition to see which tether is strongest.
  • The Beam Power Challenge centers on the development of wireless power technologies for a wide range of exploration purposes, such as lunar exploration. In this challenge, teams will develop wireless power transmission systems, including both transmitters and receivers. This power will be used to power robotic climbers to lift the greatest weight possible to the top of a 50-meter cable in under three minutes.
  • The Moon Regolith Oxygen Challenge (MoonROx) centers on creating oxygen from an artificial lunar soil. The competition will reward US$250,000 for a system capable of extracting 2.5 kilograms of oxygen from 100 kilograms of artificial lunar regolith in 4 hours or less. [1]
  • The Astronaut Glove Challenge centers on making a better glove for use in space. The competition will reward US$250,000 to the team which designs and constructs the best-performing astronaut glove.
  • The Lunar Lander Challenge centers on demonstrating the ability to takeoff and land vertically with launch energies equivalent to those be needed for a lunar lander.

Current Centennial Challenges

The current (as of April 2007) NASA Centennial Challenges are: [2]

Challenge Date Challenge Name Purse Allied Organization
May 2-3, 2007 2007 Astronaut Glove Challenge $250K Volanz Aerospace Inc./Spaceflight America
May 11-12, 2007 2007 Regolith Excavation Challenge $250K California Space Education & Workforce Institute (CSEWI)
Aug 4-12, 2007 Personal Air Vehicle Challenge $250K CAFE Foundation
Oct 2007 2007 Beam Power Challenge $500K The Spaceward Foundation
Oct 2007 2007 Tether Challenge $500K The Spaceward Foundation
Oct 2007 Lunar Lander Challenge $2M The X PRIZE Foundation
Expires Jun 1, 2008 Moon Regolith Oxygen Challenge (MoonROx) $250K California Space Education & Workforce Institute (CSEWI)

Past Challenges

The current (as of April 2007) NASA Centennial Challenges are: [3]

Challenge Date Challenge Name WinmerPurse Allied Organization
Oct 21-23, 2005 2005 Beam Power Challenge None/$50K purse combined with 2006 The Spaceward Foundation
Oct 21-23, 2005 2005 Tether Challenge None/$50K purse combined with 2006 The Spaceward Foundation
Oct 20-21, 2006 2006 Beam Power Challenge None/$200K The Spaceward Foundation
Oct 20-21, 2006 2006 Tether Challenge None/$200K The Spaceward Foundation
Oct 20-21, 2006 Lunar Lander Challenge None/$2M The X PRIZE Foundation

NewSpace Connection

This is a high visability NASA project in support of NewSpace activities.

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