The following excerpt is from the NASA website:
NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State
Department and Nike today announced a challenge to identify 10
game-changing innovations that could transform waste-management
systems and practices. Waste management is important for planning
long-duration human spaceflight missions to an asteroid, Mars or
beyond.
Humans living off the planet require waste solutions that mirror
issues facing people on Earth. In the hostile environment of space,
waste must be eliminated or transformed in the most efficient and
cost-effective manner possible. The innovations, which will be
presented at the LAUNCH: Beyond Waste forum, may lead to practical
applications for astronauts as we send humans deeper into our solar
system.
The challenge will be open April 1-May 15 and will seek creative
solutions to minimize waste or transform it into new products in
space and on Earth. Forum partners will select 10 innovators to
present their technology solutions at the LAUNCH: Beyond Waste forum,
hosted by NASA July 20-22, at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, Calif.
NASA and the LAUNCH Council -- thought leaders representing a diverse
and collaborative body of entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers,
government, media and business -- will participate in the forum and
help guide these innovations forward. The selected LAUNCH innovators
will receive networking and mentoring opportunities from influential
business and government leaders, as well as portfolio presentations.
Previous LAUNCH forums have focused on water, health and energy. These
forums resulted in innovations, including technology that enables
irrigation using brackish, saline and polluted water; a biodegradable
needle that can deliver vaccines or medicine under the skin using a
pressure device; a tiny holographic microscope attached to a cell
phone that can detect parasites and bacteria in blood and water in
remote locations; a handheld lab-in-a-box that diagnoses a variety of
diseases in a matter of minutes; a modular, flexible smart-grid
distribution technology to provide access to power for those in need;
and a simple, affordable fuel cell that converts biomass directly to
electricity.
LAUNCH was created to identify, showcase and support innovative
approaches to global sustainability challenges. LAUNCH searches for
visionaries whose ideas, technologies or programs show great promise
for making tangible impacts on society in the developed and
developing worlds.
