Two American teams have received a total of $1.5 million from NASA as part of the Watts on the Moon Challenge for their creative technological solutions that address energy distribution, management, and storage. The challenge’s inventions are intended to help NASA’s Artemis missions, which would create a permanent human presence on the Moon.
The two-phase competition challenged U.S. innovators to develop advanced power transmission and energy storage technologies for long-duration Moon missions. The final phase concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ ceremony at the Great Lakes Science Center, home of NASA’s Glenn Research Center. “Congratulations to the finalists for creating impactful solutions that support NASA’s goal of sustaining human presence on the Moon,” said Kim Krome-Sieja, acting program manager for NASA Centennial Challenges. These innovations could also benefit Earth’s power systems.
The triumphant groups are:
- Santa Barbara, California’s High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution won the first prize of $1 million.
- Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado won second place ($500,000).
In the final stage of the competition, four teams refined their hardware and delivered full system prototypes, with three teams successfully demonstrating their technologies at NASA Glenn. These prototypes were the first power transmission and energy storage systems tested in a vacuum chamber simulating the extreme conditions of the Lunar South Pole. The teams’ systems had to operate for six hours of solar daylight and 18 hours of darkness, with the user located three kilometres (nearly two miles) from the power source.
Judges evaluated the finalists based on a Total Effective System Mass (TESM) calculation, which measures system effectiveness relative to size and weight, as well as total energy output. The highest-performing solution was determined by the lowest TESM value, reflecting the challenges of minimizing mass while meeting electrical power needs in space missions.
UC Santa Barbara’s Team H.E.L.P.S. took home the golden prize for their creative hardware solution, which produced the lowest mass and maximum efficiency. An 800-volt wire, energy-storage batteries at both ends, and a heat-regulating changeable radiation shield were all part of their design. Its efficiency in heat management and power transmission was validated by a successful 48-hour test.
Orbital Mining Corporation finished the 48-hour test with its low-mass cable and high-voltage converter system in second place.
NASA program executive Amy Kaminski stated, “The energy solutions developed by the challenge teams align with NASA’s space technology priorities,” emphasizing their significance for lunar night operations.
