Partner Event
NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge: Informational Webinar
Support NASA’s efforts to explore the solar system. This Challenge seeks solutions to distribute, store and manage power in space.
Thursday, January 21, 2021
1:00 PM EST
Challenge Background and Objectives
As NASA works to extend human exploration of the solar system, unprecedented capacity for electrical and thermal energy distribution, management, and storage will be needed to support sustained human presence and the beginning of industrial activity.
Solar energy is abundant on the lunar surface but extended night hours (350 consecutive hours) and extreme environmental temperature change from daylight to nighttime operation creates complexity for solar power use. Analogous issues arise on Earth, where demand for additional renewable energy generation, including solar, is rising, but additional power management, distribution, and energy storage solutions are needed to address intermittency and resiliency, among other issues.
In this Challenge, Teams will propose solutions for energy distribution, management, and/or storage that address NASA technology gaps and can progress toward flight readiness and future operation on the lunar surface. Such solutions may also have important synergies with terrestrial energy needs, and this Challenge is expected to help advance similar technologies for terrestrial application and commercialization.
In general, NASA is seeking to work with innovators across disciplines to find solutions that address a variety of needs on the lunar surface and will be exploring options to transport potential solutions to the Moon for testing, demonstration, and operation in the coming years.
This is a US competition only. Please review the Team Agreement for complete eligibility requirements.