University of Utah takes top honors in BIG Idea Lunar Forge Challenge

NASA · November 21, 2023

A member of the winning team of NASA’s 2023’s BIG Idea Challenge working on their Lunar Forge project, Production of Steel from Lunar Regolith through Carbonyl Iron Refining (CIR).

University of Utah

Through Artemis, NASA plans to conduct long-duration human and robotic missions on the lunar surface in preparation for future crewed exploration of Mars. Expanding exploration capabilities requires a robust lunar infrastructure, including practical and cost-effective ways to construct a lunar base. One method is employing in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) – or the ability to use naturally occurring resources – to produce consumables and build structures in the future, which will make explorers more Earth-independent.

An ISRU process that NASA wants to learn more about is forging metals from lunar minerals to create structures and tools in the future. Through its 2023 Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Lunar Forge Challenge, NASA sought innovative concepts from university students to design an ISRU metal production pipeline on the Moon. The year-and-a-half-long challenge, funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and Office of STEM Engagement, supports NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative in developing new approaches and novel technologies to pave the way for successful exploration on the surface of the Moon.

Finalist teams presented their research, designs, prototypes, and testing results to a panel of NASA and industry judges at a culminating forum on Nov. 16, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The University of Utah team, partnering with Powder Metallurgy Research Laboratory, earned the Artemis Award, which represents top honors in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge. Their lunar forge project, Production of Steel from Lunar Regolith through Carbonyl Iron Refining (CIR), represents a promising avenue to extract iron from reduced lunar regolith and refine it into a high purity powder product in a two-stage process. The Artemis Award is given to the team whose concept has the best potential to contribute to and be integrated into an Artemis mission.

There were multiple times we came close to scrapping the concept, but each time we found the strength to go a little farther. Our small group was driven by a genuine belief in the concept and curiosity of what would happen. This honor has validated the perseverance, effort, and dedication of exploring an innovative and applied idea. Participating in this challenge has allowed us to gain a tremendous and unique experience in technical and collaboration skills. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and for the friends we made along the way!

Collin Andersen, Team Lead

University of Utah and Powder Metallurgy Research Laboratory

The University of Utah team, partnering with Powder Metallurgy Research Laboratory, earned the Artemis Award, which represents top honors in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge.

Credit: National Institute of Aerospace

Teams could select to address technologies needed along any point in the lunar metal production pipeline, including, but not limited to:

Metal detecting

Metal refining
Forming materials for additive manufacturing
Testing and qualifying 3D printed infrastructure for use on the Moon

In January, teams submitted proposal packages, from which seven finalists were selected in March 2023 for funding of up to $180,000, totaling nearly $1.1 million across all teams. The finalists then worked for nine months designing, developing, and demonstrating their concepts. The 2023 BIG Idea program concluded at its annual forum, where teams presented their results and answered questions from judges, followed by an interactive poster session. Experts from NASA and other aerospace companies evaluated the student concepts based on technical innovation, credibility, management, and teams’ verification testing. In addition to the presentation, the teams provided a technical paper and technical poster detailing their proposed metal production pipeline.

This was a fantastic experience for both the student and NASA participants. The university concepts for how to forge metal on the Moon were inspiring and resulted in diverse, novel approaches for the agency to consider, as well as an extensive learning experience for students. The BIG Idea Challenge proves time and time again that engaging the academic community in complex technology challenges is a worthwhile endeavor for everyone involved.

Niki werkheiser

Director of technology maturation within STMD

In addition to the top spot, several teams were recognized in other categories, including:

Edison Award: Missouri University of Science & Technology

Path-to-Flight Award: University of North Texas with Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Processes Institute at UNT; Enabled Engineering

Systems Engineering: Northwestern University with Wearifi, Inc.

Best Verification Demonstration: Colorado School of Mines

BIG Picture Award: Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Honeybee Robotics

Innovation Award: Pennsylvania State University with RFHIC & Jacobs Space Exploration Group

The 2023 BIG Idea Challenge is sponsored by NASA through a collaboration between STMD’s Game Changing Development program and the Office of STEM Engagement’s Space Grant project. The Challenge is managed by a partnership between the National Institute of Aerospace and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

Students from Northwestern University with Wearifi, Inc., winners of the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge System's Engineering award. — Students from Northwestern University with Wearifi, Inc., winners of the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge System’s Engineering award.
Credit: Northwestern University

Colorado School of Mines team members are shown submerging the housing into a furnace holding simulated regolith melt > 1,300°C in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge.
Credit: Colorado School of Mines

An image of MIT’s floating zone furnace set up for the unbeneficiated small-scale experiment.
Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Missouri University of Science & Technology’s team members are shown working on their lunar forge project in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge.
Credit: Missouri University of Science & Technology

An image of furrowed soil created by ACRE’s plow in Northwestern’s BIG Idea Challenge project.
Credit: Northwestern University

Penn State University’s SMELT system is shown during experiments with 20-g samples during the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge.
Credit: Penn State University

Student from Missouri University of Science and Technology working on the team's lunar forge project in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge. — Student from Missouri University of Science and Technology working on the team’s lunar forge project in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge.
Credit: Missouri University of Science and Technology

An overview image depicts how University of North Texas’s SIMPLE project works, in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge.
Credit: University of North Texas

Colorado School of Mines team members pouring regolith slag into tile sandcasting molds to review applicability for use as building products in the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge.
Credit: Colorado School of Mines

An image of one step in the process of reducing anorthite to alumina in Missouri University of Science & Technology’s BIG Idea Challenge project.
Credit: Missouri University of Science and Technology

BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Best Verification Demonstration -- from the Colorado School of Mines — BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Best Verification Demonstration, Colorado School of Mines
Amy McCluskey, National Institute of Aerospace

2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the BIG Picture Award -- from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — 2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the BIG Picture Award, Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Honeybee Robotics
Amy McCluskey, National Institute of Aerospace

2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Edison Award -- from the Missouri University of Science & Technology — 2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Edison Award, Missouri University of Science & Technology
Amy McCluskey, National Institute of Aerospace

2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Innovation Award -- from Pennsylvania State University with RFHIC & Jacobs Space Exploration Group — 2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Innovation Award, Pennsylvania State University with RFHIC & Jacobs Space Exploration Group
Amy McCluskey, National Institute of Aerospace

2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Path to Flight Award -- from University of North Texas with Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Processes Institute at UNT; Enabled Engineering — 2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Path to Flight Award, University of North Texas with Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Processes Institute at UNT; Enabled Engineering
Credit: Amy McCluskey, National Institute of Aerospace

2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Systems Engineering Award -- from Northwestern University with Wearifi, Inc. — 2023 BIG Idea Challenge winners of the Systems Engineering Award, Northwestern University with Wearifi, Inc.
Credit: Amy McCluskey, National Institute of Aerospace

NASA sponsors the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge through its Game Changing Development program and the Office of STEM Engagement’s Space Grant project. The National Institute of Aerospace and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland managed the challenge for NASA.

Team presentations, technical papers, and digital posters are available on the BIG Idea website.  

For full competition details, visit:
https://bigidea.nianet.org/2023-challenge/

Illustration of an astronaut on the Moon working on metal forging

NASA’s 2023 annual Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge asks college students to design technologies that will support a metal production pipeline on the Moon – from extracting metal from lunar minerals to creating structures and tools.

NASA/Advanced Concepts Lab