Space

NASA Launches $150,000 Lunar Grounding Challenge to Prevent Astronaut Static Discharge

By Akriti Anand

NASA has announced a crowdsourced competition called the Lunar Grounding Challenge, offering up to $150,000 in prizes for innovative engineering solutions that prevent astronauts from becoming high‑voltage capacitors on the Moon. The agency is concerned about tribocharging from walking on the lunar surface and plasma charging from ambient plasma, which can build up dangerous negative potentials on a spacesuit, especially in permanently shadowed regions where photoelectron emission is absent. When an astronaut returns to a lander that holds a slightly positive potential, the resulting voltage differential can cause an electrostatic discharge that may damage suit layers, electronics, the oxygen‑rich environment, and pose a shock risk to the crew.

The challenge seeks designs that neutralise the astronaut safely before contact with the lander. Submissions must minimise mass, volume, and power, be under 20 kg, and be operable in the harsh lunar environment. The solution must support up to four EVAs over 10 days and avoid arcing that could reach the suit or lander, taking into account dust‑induced increased arcing lengths.

Registrations opened on October 5, with a submission deadline of January 15, 2027. The competition has two phases: Concept Design Submission and Concept Refinement. NASA has not set a release date for the technology but aims for a long‑term lunar base that could be operational in the 2030s if schedules hold.

Applications can be submitted at https://work.crowdplat.com/challenge/lunar-grounding-challenge.