Ground-up lunar rock, known as regolith, clogs drills and other delicate instruments, and it’s so sharp that it scratches space suits. Because the dust absorbs sunlight, it can also overheat sensitive electronics.

Dust particles also pose a health risk. Apollo-era astronauts reported burning eyes and stuffy nasal passages when they returned from moon walks and took off their dust-covered space suits inside the capsule. The health risk from dust particles is also a concern for industries on earth, like mining, construction and in warehouses which are legally required to minimize their dust emissions.

Your challenge is to design a system that can contain, separate, or reduce the dust clouds that mechanical drills create on the moon.

Top competing teams will win an opportunity for their technology to be flown and evaluated in zero gravity on a Beings Systems parabolic flight as a first step to validate that your system can really operate in the space environment.

1. Design a prototype of a system to contain, separate or reduce dust that would decrease the risks of dust created by mechanical drills on the moon. And propose a potential use case for the technology to be used here on earth too. Consider how this could be done efficiently without using other precious resources such as water.
2. Prepare a 3-minute video demonstrating and pitching your proposed solution. You can follow any narrative structure you prefer, but one you could follow is walking through the stages of: What is the problem? What should the solution resemble? What is your technology to realise this? What’s your proposed business model? Who are your first target customers, and how do you know they really want your solution? What’s your assessment of the market opportunity? What does the competitive landscape look like? Who is your A-team and why are you the best to build this? What would come next to make it real? What would you need to do that?

NOTE: Teams may perform background research before the event, but any group that starts building before the 48 hour timer starts will be disqualified.

First Prize

• $1000 cash
• $2000 worth of units in our 2022 fund (i.e. targeting 12 space tech investments)
• Moonshot t-shirts – 60 minutes of free Moonshot coaching
• A copy of ‘Space is open for business’ by Robert Jacobsen

Second Prize

• $500 cash
• $1000 worth of units in our 2022 fund (i.e. targeting 12 space tech investments)
• Moonshot t-shirts – 60 minutes of free Moonshot coaching
• A copy of ‘Space is open for business’ by Robert Jacobsen

Third Prize

• Moonshot t-shirts
• 60 minutes of free Moonshot coaching
• A copy of ‘Space is open for business’ by Robert Jacobsen

Challenge Sponsor Prize

Top competing teams will win an opportunity for their technology to be flown and evaluated in zero gravity on a Beings Systems parabolic flight, as a first step to validate that your system can really operate in the space environment.

Technology

• You’re building a Minimum Viable Product, you don’t need to build a fully functioning system – although if you managed to, we’d certainly be impressed!

Solution

• You can focus more or less on different aspects of the solution space. For example, perhaps your skills will be more attuned to developing a smart dust management and tracking system in software rather than the physical system. Use the skills of your team to your advantage, and use your unique perspectives to think outside of the box in creating your unique solution.