{"id":140692,"date":"2022-08-16T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-482094"},"modified":"2023-07-26T16:40:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T20:40:28","slug":"seven-teams-advance-in-nasas-5m-watts-on-the-moon-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/glenn\/seven-teams-advance-in-nasas-5m-watts-on-the-moon-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Teams Advance in NASA\u2019s $5M Watts on the Moon Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With the upcoming launch of <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/artemis-1\">Artemis I<\/a>, NASA is setting the stage to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. Future Artemis astronauts living and working on the lunar surface will require rugged technologies that can store energy and deliver continuous, reliable power.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-cover \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"WATTS on the Moon Challenge icon\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png 2400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=900,600 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?resize=2000,1333 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Toward that goal, NASA has announced seven teams advancing to the next level of the agency\u2019s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The $5 million, multi-level prize competition challenges innovators from all walks of life to develop pioneering power systems light enough for spaceflight and tough enough to withstand the harsh lunar environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBuilding a strong infrastructure on the Moon is critical to enabling sustained human presence on the Moon and beyond,\u201d said Denise Morris, acting program manager for NASA\u2019s Centennial Challenges at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. \u201cThe Watts on the Moon Challenge will get us one step closer by providing power transmission and energy storage solutions that will help future Artemis astronauts explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second phase of the challenge kicked off in February with a design competition. Phase 2, Level 1 challenged solvers to submit concepts for drawing power from an existing source and delivering it over nearly two miles (three kilometers) under the same temperature extremes and vacuum conditions found on the lunar surface.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Seven Teams Advance in NASA\u2019s $5 Million Watts on the Moon Challenge\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QLQ6Xe29wXc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The winning teams were chosen from submissions of technical documentation, including detailed engineering designs and analyses. A panel of judges reviewed, evaluated, and scored submissions based on key performance metrics such as minimal mass and maximum efficiency. Seven winning team will receive $200,000 each from NASA and move on to compete in Phase 2, Level 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Phase 2, Level 1 winners are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Electric Moon, Columbus, Ohio<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Orbital Mining Corporation, Golden, Colorado<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Philip Lubin\u2019s Team, Santa Barbara, California<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Michigan Technological University Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab, Houghton<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Skycorp, Santa Clara, California<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Virtus Solis Technologies Inc., Troy, Michigan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>X-Wheel Inc., Hialeah, Florida<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting because we\u2019re developing new technology that will enable continuous human presence on the lunar surface,\u201d said Rob Button, deputy chief of the Power Division at NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. \u201cSpecifically, we\u2019re addressing long distance power transmission and energy storage in very cold conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phase 2, Level 2 challenges these seven teams to develop and test key parts of their solutions. Up to four teams will win equal shares of $1.6 million and move on to compete in the Watts on the Moon Challenge finals. To close out the challenge, the four finalist teams will have to prove the success of their solution inside a vacuum chamber for two top prizes worth a total of $1.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/centennial_challenges\/500k-awarded-in-first-phase-of-5m-watts-on-the-moon-challenge.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Phase 1<\/a> of this challenge, NASA awarded a total of $500,000 to seven teams in May 2021. Sixty teams submitted original design concepts aimed at meeting future needs for robust and flexible technologies to power human and robotic outposts on the Moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Watts on the Moon Challenge is a NASA Centennial Challenge led by the agency\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. NASA has contracted HeroX to support the administration of this challenge. Marshall Space Flight Center manages NASA\u2019s Centennial Challenges on behalf of the agency\u2019s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on NASA\u2019s Watts on the Moon Challenge, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nasa.gov\/wattson\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/nasa.gov\/wattson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Media contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Molly Porter<br><\/strong>Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL<br>256-424-5158<br><a href=\"mailto:molly.a.porter@nasa.gov\">molly.a.porter@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the upcoming launch of Artemis I, NASA is setting the stage to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. Future Artemis astronauts living and working on the lunar surface will require rugged technologies that can store energy and deliver continuous, reliable power. Toward that goal, NASA has announced [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":67731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":["283577"],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2917,11536,2856,2864,3343,2879],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Seven Teams Advance in NASA\u2019s $5M Watts on the Moon Challenge","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/glenn\/seven-teams-advance-in-nasas-5m-watts-on-the-moon-challenge\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/glenn\/seven-teams-advance-in-nasas-5m-watts-on-the-moon-challenge\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png"},"articleSection":"Missions","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Beth Ridgeway"}],"creator":["Beth Ridgeway"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Directorates","Space Technology Mission Directorate","Artemis 1","Centennial Challenges","Glenn Research Center","Marshall Space Flight Center","Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program"],"dateCreated":"2022-08-16T23:00:00Z","datePublished":"2022-08-16T23:00:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T20:40:28Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"Seven Teams Advance in NASA\u2019s $5M Watts on the Moon Challenge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/glenn\/seven-teams-advance-in-nasas-5m-watts-on-the-moon-challenge\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2022-08-16T23:00:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Missions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Directorates,Space Technology Mission Directorate,Artemis 1,Centennial Challenges,Glenn Research Center,Marshall Space Flight Center,Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Beth Ridgeway\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":3,"time_ago":"2 years","featured_image":{"id":67731,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0.png","title":"watts_on_the_moon_thumbnail_0","alt":"WATTS on the Moon Challenge icon","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140692"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":360764,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140692\/revisions\/360764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140692"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=140692"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=140692"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=140692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}