OVERVIEW
The Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge is an initiative supporting NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s (STMD’s) Game Changing Development Program’s (GCD) efforts to rapidly mature innovative and high-impact capabilities and technologies for infusion in a broad array of future NASA missions.
The BIG Idea Challenge also offers real-world experience for university students in the development of the systems needed to support NASA’s exploration goals. For this reason, the Space Grant Consortium supports the challenge by leveraging funds to help develop the next line of a STEM-trained workforce with skills and experience aligned directly with STMD technology focus areas and capability needs.
Participation in the 2021 BIG Idea Challenge is limited to teams of undergraduate and graduate students at accredited U.S.-based colleges and universities officially affiliated with their state’s Space Grant Consortium. However, non-Space Grant affiliated colleges and universities may partner with a Space Grant-affiliated academic institution. Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply. The BIG Idea challenge allows students to incorporate their coursework into real aerospace design concepts and work together in a team environment. Multi-university and interdisciplinary teams are encouraged.
The 2021 BIG Idea Challenge provides undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to design, build, and test novel dust mitigation (or dust tolerant) technologies that could be used for lunar applications. This competition is intended to be an open innovation challenge with minimal constraints so that proposing teams can genuinely create and develop out-of-the-box solutions.
Through this challenge, NASA seeks innovative ideas from the academic community for a wide range of lunar dust mitigation solutions for issues including reducing dust clouds upon landing, dust removal from spacesuits and other surfaces, dust obstruction of optical systems, and reducing in-cabin particulate levels, among others.
Based on the review of robust proposals, 5-10 university teams (the primary institution for each team must be a Space Grant-affiliated school) will be selected to build their proposed technology for dust mitigation that could include keeping the spacesuits clean, as well as the surface rovers and lunar lander clean inside and out. Teams will be responsible for setting up and executing their own high-fidelity verification/demonstration testing, based on what was described in the proposal. Teams are encouraged to be creative and design their own accurate and realistically simulated testing scenarios. This is key, because if any proposed concepts are deemed viable, NASA just may be interested in including all or part of one of these concepts into a future NASA mission.
Each team will submit a detailed and realistic budget in their proposals, not to exceed $180,000. A wide range of award sizes is expected (in the amount of $50,000 to $180,000), depending on the score of the work proposed. We anticipate funding several larger-scope awards (typically $125,000-$180,000) and several smaller-scope awards (typically $50,000 - $124,000). Proposers are encouraged to request what is actually needed to conduct the proposed work.
CONTEXT FOR THE 2021 CHALLENGE THEME
NASA is committed to landing American astronauts, including the first woman and the next man, on the Moon by 2024. Through the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration program, we will use more innovative and cost-effective new technologies and systems to explore more of the Moon than ever before. We will collaborate with our commercial and international partners to establish sustainable missions by 2028.
Establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon allows NASA to develop and test new approaches, technologies, and systems that will enable us to function in other, more challenging environments. Technology developed for Artemis will lower the costs, improve safety, and increase the performance of deep space exploration, making possible even more ambitious missions to Mars. By working side by side with commercial enterprises and our international partners and combining knowledge and expertise to fully explore the lunar surface, many technical advances and breakthroughs will be made that will feed technological and economic growth on Earth.
The Moon’s environment presents unique challenges, and lunar dust is one of the principal limiting factors in returning to the lunar surface for missions of any extended duration. Lunar dust is difficult to shield against and remove as it is extremely abrasive, highly cohesive, small in size, and may be electrostatically charged. In addition to threatening astronaut health, lunar dust issues have also resulted in incorrect instrument readings, vision and optical system obscuration, performance reduction, altered thermal properties, and equipment failure. High-velocity dust ejected by descent engine exhaust can cause damage to the lander, as well as nearby surface assets, which will have negative consequences as NASA strives for sustainable lunar exploration. Many terrestrial industries such as mining, food, and cosmetics, have created unique dust mitigation technologies. NASA would like to explore these innovations as potential solutions to lunar dust issues.
For future lunar exploration missions, dust will also inevitably be introduced into habitable spaces, where, under lunar gravity, certain particle sizes can be a health hazard to humans. No single technology completely solves the challenges of dust, but rather a suite of technologies will be required to address them. To enable sustainable human operation of the Moon in the coming decade, NASA is looking for near-term, innovative and viable solutions for dealing with the Moon’s abrasive dust.
NASA has its sights set on a place no humans have ever gone before: the lunar South Pole. While no location on the Moon stays continuously illuminated, there are areas near the South Pole that are in sunlight for extended periods of time, over 200 Earth days of constant illumination. Technologies developed will need to be able to withstand the extreme environments on the lunar surface where they will need to operate throughout the full range of lunar surface conditions including lunar noon, up to -56ºF ( -49ºC ), and lunar night, down to -386ºF (-232ºC ), multiple day and night cycles, and in permanently shadowed regions, down to -405ºF (-243ºC ).
BASIC CHALLENGE AND PROPOSAL CATEGORIES
NASA is engaging the university community for ideas to help achieve their lunar exploration goals through the 2021 BIG Idea Challenge, which is asking university teams to develop novel active and/or passive dust mitigation (or dust tolerant) materials and technologies to be used in or on lunar architecture elements and supporting equipment and infrastructure for future lunar missions (refer to NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development) including, but not limited to: spacesuits, habitable volumes, surface equipment, and landers. Teams are invited to submit proposals that will respond to one or more of the following categories:
- Landing Dust Prevention and Mitigation - to preclude or protect from plume/surface interactions which may result in damaged landers and nearby surface assets.
- Spacesuit Dust Tolerance and Mitigation - to limit dust adherence to spacesuits and other deleterious effects to its subsystems.
- Exterior Dust Prevention, Tolerance, and Mitigation -to protect lunar surface systems or preclude dust from entering habitats and landers
- Cabin Dust Tolerance and Mitigation - to clean habitable volumes and their interior surfaces, which helps prevent dust from making it back to Gateway and Orion when the lander returns to lunar orbit from the surface
Example active and passive dust mitigation technologies that could be used for lunar applications, include, but are not limited to:
- Dust free zones (landing pads, lunar surface modification, dust-free workspaces)
- Optical systems (i.e., viewports, camera lenses, solar panels, space suite visors, mass spectrometers, other sensitive optical instruments)
- Thermal systems (i.e., thermal radiators, painted surfaces, or connections)
- Dust-tolerant textiles and fabrics (i.e., space suit fabrics, soft wall habitats, mechanism covers)
- Dust-tolerant mechanisms (i.e., linear actuators, bearings, rotary joints, hinges, quick disconnects, valves, linkages)
- Seals and soft goods (i.e., space suit interfaces, hatches, connectors, hoses)
- Airborne Particle Gaseous filtration (i.e., atmosphere revitalization, In-Space Resource Utilization [ISRU] processes)
Note: This solicitation is not seeking the development of new monitoring technologies. However, existing monitoring technologies and strategies may be required for verification.
For detailed information on the types of dust mitigation technologies NASA is interested in, teams are encouraged to refer to the 2016 Dust Mitigation Gap Assessment Report.
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE DUST MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES
Dust Mitigation technologies can be categorized into active and passive technologies.
- Active technologies are those that are used to clean a surface or to protect it from dust deposition through external forces.
- Passive technologies are those in which items are pretreated physically or chemically in order to minimize dust adherence, or do not require the use of external forces
DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
REQUIRED DESIGN CONSTRAINTS:
- Able to manage and mitigate abrasive dust
- Able to mitigate small particles (~0.5-50 μm)
- Minimal barriers to NASA adoption (e.g. low mass, small size, low power, etc.)
- Cost-effective solutions
- Nonflammable
- Able to work in harsh lunar South Pole environments it is intended for
- Lunar noon (up to -49 ℃),
- Lunar night (down to -232 ℃)
- Multiple day/night cycles
- In permanently shadowed regions (down to -243 ℃).
- Technologies should reach a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4**
- Thermal and/or vacuum testing, and use of appropriate dust simulants are required to achieve a TRL of 4. (Performance in lunar conditions can be evaluated by analysis if vacuum testing is unavailable).
DESIRED DESIGN CONSTRAINTS:
- Component relevant environment testing complete (TRL 5)**
- Nontoxic
**See NASA Technology Readiness Level Definitions
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS MUST CONSIDER
The design package must include a Concept of Operations (ConOps) that clearly describes the complete lifecycle, including all design assumptions and address fabrication, transport, deployment, and operations. Proposing teams should clearly identify their assumptions and provide rationale to support them. Below are some recommended assumptions, but teams can adjust them if a good rationale to do so is provided.
- The solution should be targeted for use on the Moon by 2026
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- This drives the technology readiness level (TRL) of the components used. A technology development/qualification plan should be discussed for any required component with a TRL less than 5.
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- Cost-effective solutions
- Operational use and simplicity (minimize required crew time for use and maintenance)
- Verification of dust mitigation capability
- Design for the lunar environment
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- e.g., temperature/ vacuum/ complete darkness/ unique lunar lighting (high contrast)/ power/ degraded communications/ abrasive regolith/ rugged terrain that may include extremely soft soil, rocks, boulders, high grade slopes, etc.
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- Deployment on a NASA/commercial lunar surface system
- Deployment method (autonomous or crew assisted)
- Data rate requirements for data downlink (if necessary)
- Innovative design
- Potential stakeholders/funders (i.e. Exploration, Science, Commercial)
- Effective packaging for launch and Moon landing
- Credible fabrication and material selection
HOW TO COMPETE IN THE BIG IDEA CHALLENGE
- Thoroughly review the website
- Find a qualified advisor and a team of students with diverse skills
- Ensure that your team meets the eligibility requirements
- Develop and submit a proposal and 2-3 minute video by the deadline
- Proposals and videos are reviewed and evaluated by the BIG Idea judges
- Selected teams will advance and begin development of their proposed technology
- Teams submit their work for a mid-project review (MPR)
- Upon passing MPR teams will conduct verification testing for their proposed concepts
- Submission of a technical paper with results from verification testing
- The finalist teams present their technology in a face-to-face design review with NASA and industry experts at the annual BIG Idea Forum.
The BIG Idea Challenge is open to teams of undergraduate and graduate students at accredited U.S.-based colleges and universities officially affiliated with their state’s Space Grant Consortium. Non-Space Grant affiliated colleges/universities may partner with a Space Grant affiliated academic institution who takes a primary role on the project (i.e., the Space-Grant affiliated university must submit the proposal on behalf of the joint team).
Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply.
Teams may include senior capstone students, clubs, multi-university teams, or multi-disciplinary teams. Teams are also encouraged to collaborate and work in concert with industry partners.
TEAM COMPOSITION AND SIZE LIMIT
Team sizes vary widely, but must contain, at a minimum, one US citizen faculty advisor from a U.S.-based, Space Grant Affiliated university, and 5 U.S. Citizen students from that university who work on the project and present at the BIG Idea Forum, each of whom must be U.S. citizens.
- Team size is limited to a maximum of 25 student team members.
- Teams will be comprised of a minimum number of 5 US citizen students.
- Up to 5 participating team members may be foreign nationals if they are attending the U.S.-based university submitting a proposal. It is important to note that BIG Idea Challenge funding cannot be used to directly support any non-U.S. citizen.
- Please note that due to prohibitive restrictions and ever-changing NASA security regulations, foreign nationals will not be able to attend the BIG Idea Forum if it is held on-site at a NASA Center. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
- A faculty advisor is required to attend the Forum with each team, and is a condition for acceptance into the competition
- Teams who do not have a faculty advisor present at the BIG Idea Forum will be disqualified from competing and funding will be subject to return to NIA.
- An individual (either students or faculty advisors) may join more than one team.
- A university may submit more than one proposal (multiple proposals may be funded from the same institution).
FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES
Because this is a NASA-sponsored competition, eligibility is limited to students from universities in the United States. Foreign universities are not eligible to participate in the BIG Idea Challenge.
A wide range of award sizes is expected (in the range of $50-$180K), depending on the scope of the work proposed. We anticipate funding several larger-scope awards (typically $125-$180K) and several smaller-scope awards (typically $50K - $124K). Proposers are encouraged to request what is actually needed to conduct the proposed work.
SPECIAL NOTES CONCERNING BUDGET:
- The expected number of new awards is somewhat uncertain, as it may depend on the distribution of submissions of sufficient highly rated proposals.
- NASA may support an award as outlined in the proposal budget, or may offer to fund only selected tasks.
- NASA has the authority to suspend or terminate an award in whole or in part, and funding is contingent upon availability.
- BIG Idea Challenge funding may not be used to directly support travel or stipends for federal employees acting within the scope of employment (this includes co-op students with civil servant status).
- BIG Idea Challenge funding may not be used to directly support travel or stipends for foreign nationals.
FUNDING WILL BE RECEIVED IN TWO SEPARATE INSTALLMENTS:
- The 1st installment will be received immediately upon selection so that teams may begin development of their proposed concept, and will amount to 46% of the total budget requested.
- These funds will be provided directly to the lead university, from the National Institute of Aerospace (on behalf of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s GCD Program)
- The 2nd installment (i.e., the remaining portion of the total requested funds) will be provided after teams successfully complete their mid-project review in May.
- These funds will be provided directly to the state Space Grant Consortium affiliated with the primary proposing institution from NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (Space Grant Program), via an augmentation to the state Space Grant’s core award. The state Space Grant Consortium’s lead institution will then direct the funds to the lead university for the BIG Idea Challenge via a subaward.
BIG Idea Challenge Funding is to be used for full-participation in the competition, including the purchase of hardware/software, creation of analog testing environment, stipends for student research that directly supports the proposed activity, travel to the culminating design review (2021 BIG Idea Forum), etc. Please refer to the budget portion of the Proposal section (2021 Deliverables webpage) for specific guidelines related to the intended use of funds for each installment.
The judges’ panel is comprised of NASA and industry experts who will evaluate and score all of the competition deliverables, including the proposal submissions. Submissions will be evaluated and judged based on adherence to the guidelines and constraints and the published evaluation criteria.
PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA
The proposal evaluation criteria used to evaluate proposals include:
- Technical Innovation (Max - 30 points)
- How innovative is the proposed method?
- How well does the proposed technology increase the state of the art?
- How compelling is the proposed concept’s goals and objectives?
- How well does the proposed concept align with NASA’s exploration goals and challenge guidelines? (Refer to NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development)
- Technical Credibility (Max - 25 points)
- How feasible is the proposed technology?
- Is the TRL advancement plan of the proposed technology viable?
- What level of risk is associated with development and verification of the concept?
- Has the team proposed a rigorous systems engineering approach?
- Is the technology operationally resilient? (ability to withstand adverse circumstances and the harsh lunar environment, the capability to degrade gracefully))
- Technical Management (Max - 20 points)
- Is the cost plan, including cost feasibility, value, and risk adequate and thorough?
- Is the proposed implementation plan adequate and thorough?
- What is the probability of team success? [i.e., team expertise (including faculty and industry support), access to required facilities, etc.]
- Performance Verification Testing (Max - 25 points)
- How feasible is the verification testing for the proposed technology?
- Is the team’s proposed verification testing thorough?
- Does the testing adequately represent the lunar environment?
DELIVERABLES FOR FINALIST TEAMS
Teams selected to receive funding and attend the on-site Forum will be responsible for the following Project Deliverables:
- Mid-Project Report
- 5-page report demonstrating where team is in the development process
- Teams must successfully pass this mid-project status review gate to receive the 2nd half of their stipend award
- Verification Demonstration
- Finalist teams will be required to perform comprehensive verification testing demonstrations and provide results to the judges in the technical report and presentation. Teams are encouraged to be creative and design their own accurate and realistically simulated verification testing as possible. Reminder: physics-based modeling may support verification but is not a sufficient replacement for hardware testing.
- 15-25 page Technical Paper
- 30-40 minute Presentation/Design Review, with an additional 30-40 minutes of Q&A at the BIG Idea Forum
- Technical Poster (for Poster Session conducted during on-site Forum)
- Both paper and digital poster files required
2021 CHALLENGE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
⇒ 2021 Proposal BIG Idea Quad Chart
⇒ 2021 BIG Idea Letter of Support
⇒ 2021 BIG Idea W9/Vendor Form
Note: Teams may receive a pre-filled W-9 form from their institution's accounting department. This form is equivalent to our “Vendor/W-9 Form," and it is acceptable for teams to submit their institution's pre-filled form in place of our "Vendor/W-9 Form" with their Proposal submission.
⇒ 2021 BIG Idea Mid-Project Review Safety Letter
⇒ 2021 Technical Paper BIG Idea Quad Chart
2021 CHALLENGE RESOURCES
More resources will be listed as they are made available.
Repositories/Multiple Resources
⇒ NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS)
⇒ MAPTIS (Materials and Processes Technical Information System)***
***To request access to MATPIS, choose "Register," complete the form being sure to note in the 'Justification' block that you are associated with NASA's BIG Idea Challenge. Your request will be reviewed by a NASA Official.***
⇒ SPOON – repository of flight certified parts and their successes
⇒ Quality control training classes: The AAQ (Academy of Aerospace Quality)
⇒ Landing Footage from Apollo 14
Webpages/PDFs
⇒ NASA Cost Estimating Handbook Version 4.0
⇒ APL Lunar Simulants Assessment
⇒ Commercial Simulant Providers (Exolith Lab, Off Planet Research)
⇒ Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU)
⇒ Pictures of Human Lunar Landers (Blue Origin, Dynetics, SpaceX)
⇒ Options for Staging Orbits in Cis-Lunar Space
⇒ NASA Technology Readiness Level Definitions
⇒ NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development
⇒ 2016 Dust Mitigation Gap Assessment Report
⇒ Lunar Regolith Simulant User’s Guide
⇒ Geological Considerations for Landing Plume Effects
⇒ Phenomenology of soil erosion due to rocket exhaust on the Moon and the Mauna Kea lunar test site
⇒ The Artemis Plan: NASA's Lunar Exploration Program Overview, September 2020
BIG Idea Challenge competitors may use the challenge name, logo, and images below on anything which specifically and positively represents the Challenge. This includes any presentations you do before, during, and after the onsite portion of the challenge.
LOGO
Looking for the BIG Idea logo? Click here!
NASA Logo/Media Usage Guidelines
IMAGES
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2020 Finalist Video Submissions
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP)
Title in all intellectual property, including all inventions, patents, patent applications, designs, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, software, source code, object code, processes, formulae, ideas, methods, know-how, techniques, devices, creative works, works of authorship, publications, and/or other intellectual property (“Intellectual Property”) developed by team participants as part of the Challenge will remain with the respective participants, subject to the following conditions:
Each team, and each participant thereon, participating in the Challenge grants the U.S. Government an irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable, transferable, and worldwide license to use and permit others to use all or any part of the team’s Intellectual Property developed by the team’s participants as part of the Challenge, including, without limitation, the right to make, have made, sell, offer for sale, use, rent, lease, import, copy, prepare derivative works, publicly display, publicly perform, and distribute all or any part of such Intellectual Property, modifications, or combinations thereof and to sublicense (directly or indirectly through multiple tiers) or transfer any and all such rights. This royalty-free license includes but is not limited to the right of the U.S. Government to manufacture each team’s Intellectual Property for use in NASA missions.
All deliverables provided to NASA under the Challenge, in NASA’s sole discretion, may be publicly released in conjunction with any announcements concerning the Challenge.
MEDIA RELEASE
The Teams give permission to be recorded, photographed and/or videotaped by or for NASA or its representatives for the purpose of announcements, including public announcements, concerning the Challenge.
The Teams further give permission to NASA and its representatives to use, reproduce, prepare derivative works, publish, distribute to the public, perform publicly, and/or publicly display all deliverables, including excerpts and any ancillary material, which may include each team participants’ names, affiliations (schools), images, voice, and/or likenesses. NASA may distribute the materials, including excerpts therefrom, and any ancillary material through a variety of media in existence now or in the future, including but not limited to print, television, websites, radio, or any other means. NASA may also permit a third party to exercise NASA’s rights, including but not limited to the right to display or distribute the recording, including excerpts therefrom, and any ancillary material, in any manner NASA deems appropriate.
The teams also understand that this permission to use each participant’s name, image, voice and/or likeness in such materials is not limited in time and team participant will not receive compensation for granting this permission.
Teams acknowledge that NASA has no obligation to use any participant’s name, affiliation, image, voice, and/or likeness in any materials produced by NASA, but if NASA so decides to use them, each participant waives the right to inspect or approve any such use.
Teams hereby unconditionally release NASA and its representatives from any and all claims and demands arising out of the activities authorized under this Media Release.