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NASA Unveils Centennial Challenges

Posted by samzenpus on from the step-right-up dept.

wonderfesten writes "NASA has finally got its Centennial Challenges program off the ground. Like the X Prize, the Challenges award cash prizes to private inventors who come up with solutions to problems. The first challenges are to design a light-weight, ultra-strength tether and a means of transmitting power wirelessly. But with a prize of just $50,000, will anyone give it a shot?" Details also available on MSNBC and Space.com.

3 of 262 comments (clear)

  1. Gasp! by aendeuryu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good lord! They want to combine a light-weight, ultra-strength tether with a means of transmitting power wirelessly. Read that again. A light-weight, ultra-strength tether with a means of transmitting power wirelessly. My God! Do you know what this means? Do you?!?

    Yeah, neither do I.

  2. Re:Ultra strength tether by imrec · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh... LIGHT weight...

    Damn...

    --
    Note: This sig contains nine S's, nine I's and five O's which... means absolutely nothing.
  3. Re:Transmitting power wirelessly... by dingDaShan · · Score: 5, Informative

    The first person to wirelessly transmit power, Nikola Tesla, demonstrated such a feat before 1900. The wireless transmission of power is simply the tranmitting of electromagnetic energy. The process is very inefficient at high energy and it is likely that NASA simply wants a more efficient way to do so.