You should never be ashamed to ask for help. No one expects you to know how to milk a cow, make your own clothes or master the intricate world of internet marketing. (That’s where our little digital marketing agency comes in!) We all need assistance from time to time.
Even the rocket scientists at NASA need help sometimes. In fact, they need your help now.
As Smithsonian Magazine reported, NASA is looking for help designing a ‘Lunar Loo.’
When the Going Gets Tough
Obviously, there are no rest stops on the way to the moon. (If you think it’s hard making it to the next state without stopping to answer the call of nature, imagine what it would be like traveling beyond earth’s atmosphere!)
“People have pooped and peed in space since humans first went to space, but the lack of gravity presents unusual and unpleasant challenges. The first space toilets were—in polite terms—rudimentary,” Theresa Machemer of SmithsonianMagazine.com explains. “Apollo astronauts urinated into rubber tubes and expelled the liquid into space and gathered their poop in plastic bags.”
They did a little better with the facilities aboard the International Space Station, but as NASA astronaut Suni Williams explained in a video, you need “pretty good aim.”
We’re thinking they should have put out the call for an out-of-this-world plumber a long time ago. But, better late than never!
If you think you can solve the challenges, you have until August 17 to submit your designs, which should take into account size (it must fit in about four feet of cubic space), weight (must be less than 33 pounds) and functionality in both microgravity and lunar gravity as well as what Smithsonian magazine politely refers to as “user experience.”
This competition is nothing to sneeze at (something else that must be challenging for astronauts). If NASA picks your design, you’ll receive $20,000. There will also be cash prizes for second ($10,000) and third places ($5,000).
If you’re going for it, we wish you luck! And, while you’re busy designing your lunar lavatory, we’ll be keeping our feet firmly planted on the ground, doing what we do best – providing SEO services and online marketing strategies to small businesses.
