- The Aqualunar Challenge is a £1.2m international prize funded by the UK Space Agency’s International Bilateral Fund and delivered by Challenge Works.
- The Aqualunar Challenge is awarding £300k to ten UK teams developing technologies to purify ice frozen in the Moon’s soil to make human habitation on the lunar surface viable.
- RedSpace Ltd has been awarded a grant to develop FRANK (Filtered Regolith Aqua Neutralisation Kit) in pursuit of the grand prize.
RedSpace is one of ten cutting-edge teams to have been advanced to the finals of the Aqualunar Challenge. The challenge is rewarding the development of new technologies that could a reliable supply of water to a permanent crewed base on the Moon by purifying ice frozen in the lunar soil.
The Aqualunar Challenge is part of a £1.2m international prize funded by the UK Space Agency’s International Bilateral Fund and delivered by Challenge Works – experts in designing and running innovation challenge prizes. The challenge is a collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Impact Canada.
Around the lunar south pole, it’s estimated that 6.5% of the soil (regolith) is water frozen as ice. For a permanent crewed base on the moon to be possible, astronauts will need a reliable supply of water for drinking and growing food, as well as oxygen for air and hydrogen for fuel.
If the lunar ice can be successfully extracted, separated from the soil and purified, it makes NASA’s goal of establishing a base by the end of the decade viable. The Artemis campaign, as it is known, is supported by the UK Space Agency through its membership of the European Space Agency.
Paul Bate, CEO, UK Space Agency, said:
“The ambition to build a sustainable human presence on the Moon through the NASA-led Artemis Missions will only succeed if we have ways of generating a reliable supply of clean water. The Aqualunar Challenge showcases a range of innovative ideas from UK teams and individuals to tackle this challenge, while strengthening ties with our Canadian partners.”
Explaining the importance of these new technologies, UK Space Agency reserve astronaut and chair of the Aqualunar Challenge judging panel, Meganne Christian, said:
“To sustain a permanent crewed base on the Moon over years and decades, astronauts will need a reliable water supply, which we can also use to produce oxygen and hydrogen. It is expensive and risky to send a continuous convoy of rockets from Earth to the Moon to keep a base supplied, which is why we need to develop the technologies that can purify the water that is already on the Moon.”
RedSpace, as part of Team FRANK, will develop FRANK between now and early 2025, before final judging. The team will receive a comprehensive programme of non-financial expert support, mentoring and events from Challenge Works and the UK Space Agency worth a similar value. The Aqualunar Challenge will name one winner and two runners up in Spring 2025, sharing an additional £300,000 to advance their technologies to the next level.
To find out more about the Aqualunar Challenge in the UK and learn more about all ten finalists in detail, visit aqualunarchallenge.org.uk.
