THE CHALLENGE

The Aqualunar Challenge is calling innovators to create innovative technologies for use on the Moon to remove contaminants found in lunar water. 

These technologies may also contribute to novel water purification technologies here on Earth.

We have now announced our 10 finalist teams. To find out more about their solutions, read this blog or head to our finalist section.

CHALLENGE TIMELINE (click the arrows to scroll)

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17 Jan – 8 April 2024: APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN
Applications are open until 3pm BST on 8 April 2024.
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June: FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Reward for UK-led teams behind the ten most-promising ideas with seed funding of £30k each to develop their ideas, plus access to an intensive programme of non-financial support.
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Summer – Autumn
Support with technology and business model development, plus networking with experts and the teams from the Canada track of the Aqualunar Challenge.
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January: FINALISTS SUBMISSIONS DUE
Submissions for the finalists due.
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March: WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT
An independent judging panel of experts evaluates the finalist technologies and awards the grand prizes to one winner and two runners-up.
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April-May: ACCELERATION SUPPORT
Various acceleration support to be provided for the winner and two runners-up.
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  • 2025
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During the Aqualunar Challenge, teams won’t be going to the Moon

During the Challenge, teams will not develop a technology that is ready to meet all the constraints of a real life lunar mission. But we’re looking for a clear path to get there, and a design that takes our objectives into account.

WHY LUNAR WATER?

With humankind returning to the Moon later this decade, purifying the water that exists on the Moon in ice is critical to enabling more ambitious space missions. Using lunar water – as drinking water, to grow food, to create oxygen and to split into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel – is a key enabler for supporting future deep space exploration. 

Data suggests that large quantities of water may exist in permanently shadowed regions near the lunar south pole. 

But this water is not pure, with a number of contaminants preventing its use unless it is purified.

And purifying that water in the Moon’s harsh environment – at low temperatures, using minimal power, and without easy human access – is tough.

As well as having applications for exploration of the Moon and beyond, technologies developed in the Aqualunar Challenge will have wide application here on Earth – wherever lightweight, robust, low-power water purification is needed.

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The Mission

The Aqualunar Challenge mission scenario sets out in further detail what we mean by purifying water on the moon.

Your team’s technology has been ferried to the Moon onboard an uncrewed spacecraft and has touched down near the rim of Shackleton Crater, near the Lunar South Pole. 

Inside the crater, buried in the regolith (soil) is ice.

There’s a large regolith extraction area in the permanently shadowed area of Shackleton Crater. A separate subsystem is then doing an initial processing of the regolith, leaving dirty ice.

This is primarily frozen H2O, but it also contains varying levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), ethylene (C2H4), sulfur dioxide (SO2), methanol (CH3OH), and methane (CH4), plus traces of solid regolith.  

You can assume that you are located next to this processing operation, or a short distance away from a permanently shadowed area if your process requires it.

Your technology must take this dirty ice and reliably produce at least one litre per hour of clean drinking water.

The Lunar conditions you need to take into account include:

  • The low and fluctuating temperatures present in your chosen location (within or outside Shackleton Crater).
  • The presence of highly abrasive regolith particles.
  • The low gravity on the Moon (1/6th Earth gravity).
  • The lack of any atmospheric pressure.

In addition, you need to take into account the technical constraints of a lunar lander, including:

  • Minimising power consumption.
  • Minimising physical dimensions.
  • Minimising mass.
  • Design for robustness to G forces in launch and landing.
  • Robustness to radiation and solar wind.
  • There will be no human intervention available to monitor, service or operate the technology.

Such lightweight, low-power, autonomous water purification technologies will also have wide application here on Earth.