The Space Resources Challenge in a nutshell: 4 days of assembly, 240 tons of sand, more than 20 hours of competition and dozens of photos and autographs distributed by the German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, back from a 6-month stay on board the international space station.
On September 9, the final of the Space Resource Challenge of ESA-ESRIC organized at the Rockhal in Esch-sur-Alzette, opened its doors to the public. In the presence of Minister Georges Engel and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, 150 people, young and old, discovered the rovers of the 5 finalist teams and the 1800 m2 lunar terrain in which the competition was held for a week.
The Moon is the next step for human presence in space. In order to establish habitats there, it will be necessary to collect the resources that are present and use them on site. Prospecting - the detection of these space resources - is the first step necessary to enable their use.
The challenge, launched 18 months ago, aims at developing innovative technologies for the exploration of space resources on the Moon. Of the 13 teams that responded to the call, 5 were selected during the previous selection phase organized at ESTEC. The winner, who will be known in a few weeks, will have the opportunity to implement its technology on the Moon.
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