NASA has launched a public competition asking people to find ways to turn carbon dioxide into molecules that would help astronauts endure the harsh atmosphere on the Red Planet.
Called the “CO2 Conversion Challenge”, the competition asks public to discover ways to develop novel synthesis technologies that use carbon dioxide as the sole carbon source to generate molecules that can be used to manufacture a variety of products, including “substrates” for use in microbial bioreactors.
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“Because CO2 is readily abundant within the Martian atmosphere, such technologies will translate into in-situ manufacturing of products to enable humans to live and thrive on the planet,” said NASA in a statement on Sunday.
It will also be implemented on Earth by using both waste and atmospheric CO2 as a resource, read the information on NASA Conversion Challenge website.
The challenge will focus on glucose and the first phase will require teams to submit their design explaining their approach. Five teams could win $50,000 each. The second phase of the challenge will require the selected teams to build and demonstrate their solutions. Winning candidate from the group could win up to $750,000.
Anyone can participate in the competition as long as they meet the eligibility requirements as stated in the Official Rules, and they are not a citizen or an entity from a country listed on the NASA Export Control Program List of designated countries under Category 2/Column 2.
The registrations are open and participants can submit their entries until February 28, 2019. The winners are likely to be announced by April. For more information click here https://www.co2conversionchallenge.org/image/other/CO2CCFAQs.pdf.
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