NASA challenges inventors to make breathable air from dirt

So, you want to make a quarter-million bucks? Then come up with a way for astronauts to turn moon dirt into breathing air.

NASA badly needs to scout new technology that will give human explorers the capability to live off the land if they’re going to set up a base on the moon and, someday, Mars.

The space agency realizes, however, that not every great idea is going to come from within the confines of the government or even its big aerospace contractors. So NASA is offering sizable prizes, hoping to lure as many people as possible to a nationwide brainstorming effort.

NASA’s Centennial Challenges is the result. So far, the agency has announced three contests. Only one has obvious, direct application to the bid to get back to the moon by 2020.

By John Kelly, Florida Today

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-06-06-NASA-dirt_x.htm