MIT team wins NASA recycling challenge prize
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team has won the first prize in Phase 2 of NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge, receiving $775,000 for developing a system that recycles mixed waste for lunar and deep-space missions. The prize aligns with NASA’s broader goal to accelerate waste-reduction technologies for future lunar and deep-space habitats. The award totals US$ 775 000 (EUR 668 500), showing the program’s international funding scope.
The technology grinds mixed waste into a fine powder and uses materials such as Zotek foam as reinforcement, resulting in a powder that can serve as feedstock for injection-moulded parts or 3D-printing filament. By converting heterogeneous debris into a uniform powder, the process sidesteps the need for labor-intensive material segregation in microgravity.
The CERBERUZ team, which includes undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students at MIT, targets common mission waste, including fabrics, plastics, foam, and metals, reducing the need for extensive sorting during space missions.
They won in both Phase 2 competition tracks, which focus on developing physical recycling prototypes and virtual models, or digital twins, of recycling systems. The physical-prototype track tests hardware that can operate under lunar gravity, while the digital-twin track validates system performance through high-fidelity simulations.
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Other teams receiving awards include Terasynth, RECLAIM from Penn State University, Cislune, Team Lovegrove, Moon Made, and Waste Parrot Technologies, recognizing their innovative approaches to recycling in space. Notably, Terasynth earned second place in the prototype track with its Lunar Re-Forge System, and RECLAIM from Penn State secured the Most Innovative award for its prototype concept.
Jennifer Edmunson, programme manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, states that the LunaRecycle Challenge finale is the culmination of two years of innovation spurred by this competition, with almost 200 submissions assessed by a panel of 50 judges. The judges’ review narrowed almost 200 entries to 17 winning teams representing five countries and nine U.S. states, reflecting a broad geographic interest.
The competition has attracted significant interest, with over 1,200 registrations during Phase 1, exceeding participation in any previous Centennial Challenge, and demonstrating the growing interest in recycling beyond Earth. Phase 2 builds on a Phase 1 that concluded in 2025, marking a continuous two-year development cycle for participating teams.
