USD 750,000 from NASA for anyone who finds a way to turn CO2 on Mars into other molecules

When NASA performs missions with people in space, they have to carry almost everything with them. You can't fly into the distant space to search for resources, when you're at the ISS space station yourself, and the Apollo missions to the Moon don't turn anything on the surface "Sister Hang" into necessary materials for the trip.

Of course, if you want to send people to Mars, NASA will have to find a way to change this situation. The mission to Mars will need to be as compact as possible, meaning that the most important thing we have to do is take advantage of any available resources on the Red Planet. With that requirement, NASA has just announced a competition called "CO2 Conversion Challenge" , which requires scientists and inventors to figure out how to convert CO2 into molecules that can be used to produce everything. And of course, this competition comes with huge rewards.

Groups or individuals wishing to participate will have to register before January 24, 2019.

Initially, NASA asked groups to focus on converting CO2 into Glucose, but the expression of the challenge showed that you can approach that goal from any angle you want:

"Help us find a way to develop new synthetic technology that uses carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) as the only carbon supply to make molecules that allow the production of a variety of products, including" substrates. " "for use in microbiological reaction processes.

Because there is so much CO2 in the Martian atmosphere, such technologies will help in-house production of products that allow people to live and grow on it, and can also be done on Earth. using both waste and CO2 as a resource ".

Groups or individuals wishing to participate will have to register before January 24, 2019, and then officially apply before February 28. Experts will review each plan and award up to $ 250,000 for up to five individuals or groups.

The details in the next phase of the competition have not been revealed. NASA said it will publish the rules and criteria after the completion of phase 1, while revealing that they are willing to give up to $ 750,000 to individuals, groups or groups that can prove their system. Available and can be used by astronauts on Mars.

"Future habitats on Mars will require a high level of self-sufficiency," NASA explained. "This requires a concerted effort to effectively recycle supplies from the Earth, as well as use local resources such as CO2, water and weathering to produce mission-based products. The systems that support living and human habitation will treat wastewater to create drinking water, produce oxygen from CO2, convert solid waste into usable, real-life products. products, specially designed and packaged to allow reuse in alternative forms ".