Although the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has already figured out how to send folks to space and the moon (and is gearing up for doing so once more in 2024), it has yet to properly solve the space toilet conundrum—and the agency would love for regular folks to help them with the issue.
The agency partnered with social network HeroX to launch the "Lunar Loo" competition, a crowdsourcing effort that asks respondents to submit "novel design concepts for compact toilets that can operate in both microgravity and lunar gravity," according to an official statement. That is to say, please send in ideas that will work both on the moon and while flying through space.
The top three winning designs will earn some cash. First spot will get you $20,000; second place will receive $10,000 and the third runner up will earn $5,000. Although we'd never scoff at that sum of money, we'll say that we were hoping that helping solve such a basic issue would bring along with it a bit more cash?
As of now, most astronauts use space diapers but the agency is hoping to stumble upon creative ideas that their own engineers and scientists have yet to think of. Get thinking, people, and submit your ideas right here.
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