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NASA Offers Reward for Extracting O2 from Moondust

Posted by timothy on from the what-about-non-breathable-air dept.

DoubleWhopper writes "Break out the duct tape and paper clips. NASA has announced a $250,000 reward to the "first team of scientists to invent a way to extract breathable oxygen from lunar soil". Wired reports, "Inventors who attempt the Moon Regolith Oxygen (or MoonROx) challenge will have just eight hours to extract at least 11 pounds of breathable oxygen from a simulated form of lunar soil.""

3 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. NASA's budget cuts are starting to show by HillaryWBush · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, is that 11 pounds on earth, or on the moon? And if you can do this, why accept just $250,000 for what could be the biggest invention in human history?

  2. Re:not really by ceejayoz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Uh, isn't your post sorta like saying we should never try space travel because we'd have to fill the universe with breathable oxygen?

  3. Re:Wha.....? by Bill+Walker · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Riiiiiiiiight, so if NASA have manufactured this lunar soil, then presumably they should know how to get the O2 back out!

    Really? I know how to manufacture a quiche, but I don't think I could get just the eggs back out of it.

    --
    Please, for the love of God, no more car analogies.