NASA lists Challenges Program rules

NASA's Centennial Challenges Program officials Wednesday released draft rules for six new prize competitions, including spacesuit and vehicle challenges.

The program promotes technical innovation through novel prize competitions that encompass a range of capabilities and technologies. NASA also issued a Request for Comments asking potential competitors and interested parties for comments about the detailed rules and achievability of the competitions.

The competitions are: Fuel Depot Demonstration Challenge; Human Lunar All-Terrain Vehicle Challenge; Low-Cost Space Pressure Suit Challenge; Lunar Night Power Source Challenge; Micro Reentry Vehicle Challenge; and Station-Keeping Solar Sail Challenge.

"Offering these prizes allows us to engage a lot of people we may not otherwise reach to solve technical problems that will help enable us to achieve the Vision for Space Exploration," said Scott Horowitz, NASA's associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International