Home > Centennial Challenges

1 Challenges

The Challenges have not been finalized. Candidates include:

• Very Low Cost Spacecraft Missions
  • Micro reentry vehicles
  • Lunar robotic landings
  • Mars and asteroid microspacecraft missions
  • Solar sail missions.
• Breakthrough Robotic capability competitions
  • Robotic triathalon.
  • Telerobotic construction race.
  • Robotic insects.
  • Rover survivor.
  • AntarcticAntarctica (from Greek nu;ταρκτικ&sigmaf opposed to the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earth's South Pole. It is the coldest place on earth and is almost entirely covered by ice. It is not to be confused with the rover traverse.
• Revolutionary Technology demonstrations
  • Lunar resource utilization
  • Long-term propellantA propellant is a gas, liquid or plasma used to move an object by applying a motive force. Common propellants are gasoline, jet fuel and rocket fuel. Aerosol sprays In aerosol cans, the propellant is simply a pressurized gas. If the can was simply filled storage
  • Improved astronaut glove s
  • Precision landers
  • Autonomous drillA drill is a tool with a rotary drill bit used to bore holes through material. The twist drill is most common, consisting of a cylindrical metal rod with two helical "flutes" or grooves spiralling along its length. Straight flutes are also sometimes used.s
  • BatteryIn science and technology, a battery is a device that stores energy and makes it available in an electrical form. Although such storage in an electrostatic form is practical in some specialized uses, batteries usually consist of electrochemical devices su breakthrough
  • In situ life detector
  • Extreme environment computerMicroelectronics designed for environments with high levels of ionizing radiation have special design challenges. A single charged particle of radiation can knock thousands of electrons loose, causing electronic noise, signal spikes, and in the case of di
  • Nanotube based materials
  • Tether propulsionTether propulsion uses long, strong strings (known as Tethers) to change the orbits of spacecraft. They have the potential to make space travel significantly cheaper. Most current tether designs use crystalline plastics such as Spectra. A possible future
  • Very low cost suborbital launch.

2 Origin

The Centennial Challenges are based on a long history of technology prize contests, including the Longitude prize (won by John Harrison), the Orteig Prize (won by Charles Lindbergh), the Ansari X Prize (won by Scaled Composites), and the DARPA Grand Challenge. A key advantage of prizes over traditional grants is that money is only paid when the goal is achieved. A 1999 National Academy of Engineering committee report[1] recommended that "Congress encourage federal agencies to experiment more extensively with inducement prize contests in science and technology". A 2003 NASA Space Architect study, assisted by the X PRIZE Foundation, led to the establishment of the Centennial Challenges. The prize contests were named "Centennial" in honor of the 100 years since the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903.