How would you rescue stranded astronauts like Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore? NASA is offering $20,000 for your plan!

NASA has announced an ambitious challenge as part of its Artemis missions, inviting global innovators to design a Lunar Rescue System to aid incapacitated astronauts on the Moon. With a $45,000 prize pool, the competition offers up to $20,000 for the best solution. Entries are open until 23 January 2025, through the HeroX portal. This initiative underscores NASA's commitment to ensuring astronaut safety in the unforgiving lunar environment.

The Need for a Lunar Rescue System

The Artemis mission, set for September 2026, aims to explore the Moon’s south pole, a region characterised by extreme temperatures and rugged terrain. A critical concern is the possibility of an astronaut becoming incapacitated due to an injury, medical emergency, or accident. NASA emphasises that having a reliable method to transport such an astronaut back to the lunar lander is vital.

Sarah Douglas from NASA explained the stakes: “In the unforgiving lunar environment, the possibility of an astronaut crewmember becoming incapacitated due to unforeseen circumstances (injury, medical emergency, or a mission-related accident) is a critical concern.”


The challenge stems from the difficulty of moving a fully suited astronaut on the Moon’s surface. While lunar gravity reduces weight, the astronaut’s spacesuit remains too heavy for manual transport. Complicating the issue are steep slopes, rocky terrain, and large craters at the south pole, where rocks can be up to 20 metres wide, and craters vary between 1 and 30 metres in diameter.

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Criteria for Innovative Designs

The Lunar Rescue System must enable safe transportation over at least two kilometres, up slopes of 20 degrees, without relying on a rover. NASA’s technical specifications require designs to function independently in the extreme conditions of the Moon’s south pole. The solutions must also accommodate the new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Suit, a bulky but advanced spacesuit essential for astronaut mobility.

NASA stated: “The solution must perform effectively in the Moon’s extreme South Pole environment and operate independently of a lunar rover.”

How to Participate

The challenge is hosted on the HeroX platform, which NASA regularly uses to crowdsource public innovations. Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of NASA experts, with criteria including the system’s weight, ease of use, and its impact on the astronaut’s safety. Entries are open until 23 January 2025, and more details are available on the HeroX portal.

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Preparing for Artemis Missions

The Artemis missions aim to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon, with the south pole identified as a promising site due to the potential presence of water-ice in shadowed craters. This resource could be crucial for future lunar exploration, providing water, oxygen, and even rocket fuel. However, the region’s treacherous conditions also pose unique challenges for mobility and survival, which NASA seeks to address through innovative collaborations.

By launching this competition, NASA offers an unprecedented opportunity for global talent to contribute to lunar exploration while ensuring astronaut safety remains a top priority.