Moon has a disgusting problem: who will rid the planet of excrement and vomit?

Washington, D.C. (USA) - This competition not only stinks to high heaven, but far beyond! The US space agency NASA wants to know: Who can rid the moon of feces and vomit?

There are said to be a few bags of human excrement lying around on the moon. However, a telescope has not yet been able to capture the astronaut droppings.
There are said to be a few bags of human excrement lying around on the moon. However, a telescope has not yet been able to capture the astronaut droppings.  © Patrick Pleul/dpa

Space flights are not just about sightseeing and experiments. Business is also done in space! The result is unsightly waste.

To avoid having to leave excrement behind in small plastic bags on planets - such as the moon - in future, NASA has come up with an idea and launched the"LunaRecycle Challenge".

Anyone can take part in the competition, which has prize money of around three million US dollars (equivalent to 2.6 million euros). At best, participants will have an idea in mind as to how space exploration can be made more environmentally friendly in the future.

The focus is on the question of how human excrement or packaging waste could be recycled in such a way that life on the moon is possible - without having to send all the garbage back to Earth.

Lunar surface full of bags of human waste

Will astronauts soon be able to recycle their own excrement on the moon and create something new from it? (symbolic image)
Will astronauts soon be able to recycle their own excrement on the moon and create something new from it? (symbolic image)  © MARCO BERTORELLO AFP

The LunaRecycle Challenge is divided into two parts. Part one, the so-called "Prototype Build Track" (which ended in March 2025), aimed to develop practical solutions for the waste problem described above.

The "Digital Twin Track" (part two), on the other hand, is only due to start in a few weeks' time. Challenge participants can score points here with virtual recycling models.

At best, the ideas are so good that the systems developed can be used not only on the moon, but also for waste disposal on Mother Earth. Experts from the US government, industry and science will decide who wins in the end.

By the way: According to The Weather Channel , there are currently 96 bags full of human waste lying around on the moon. They presumably come from astronauts who are said to have set foot on the lunar surface as part of the US Apollo missions .