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NASA's Astronaut Glove Design Competition

Posted by Zonk on from the build-a-better-glove-and-the-world-will-beat-a-path-to-your-door dept.

FleaPlus writes "NASA's Centennial Challenges program has announced its latest prize contest, the Astronaut Glove Challenge. The competition, a collaboration between NASA and the non-profit Volanz Aerospace, will be held in late 2006 and will award $250K to the team which produces the best-performing glove within contest parameters. The basic idea was originally proposed last year on Rand Simberg's Transterrestrial Musings blog to improve on current gloves, which have difficulties with remaining flexible while maintaining constant internal pressure in the vacuum of space. Previously-announced competitions include prizes for superstrong tethers, beaming power, and extracting oxygen from lunar regolith. These prizes are intended to lay the groundwork for larger competitions to further NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, possibly including 'an eight-figure prize for the first privately developed robotic moon lander.'"

6 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Reverse Engineer one from the Aliens by asscroft · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why don't they just reverse engineer one from the aliens?!? :)

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    because I have been enjoined by this Holy Office to abandon the false opinion which maintains that the Sun is the centre
  2. Re:Didn't Nintendo already do this? by datafr0g · · Score: 3, Funny

    These gloves were originally designed for plumbers who jump on mushrooms, turtles and flagpoles - not for space exploration.

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    "Who says nothing is impossible? Some people do it every day!" - Alfred E. Neuman
  3. Low and behold by chriswaclawik · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here's my design. Comment on it at will.

    --
    A guy walks into a bar... well, I forgot the joke, but the punchline is that he's an alcoholic.
  4. They really... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I see NASA has really thrown down the gauntlet with this challenge!

  5. I don't know about you guys by squarefish · · Score: 3, Funny

    but it get's lonely up there I'd definitely need a build-in lotion dispenser.
    -:)

    --
    Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
  6. Re:Couldn't they just.... by mrchaotica · · Score: 3, Funny

    Never mind; I just realized that that's what skin is for. I feel stupid now...

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    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz