MIT Wins NASA LunaRecycle Challenge Phase Two
A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has taken first place in Phase 2 of NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge, securing a prize of US$ 775 000 (≈ € 668 500). The group combined expertise from undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels to develop the winning system.
The competition, organized by NASA, seeks technologies that lower waste generation on future lunar and deep-space missions, where resupply opportunities are limited and mass savings are critical. By reducing the amount of material that must be launched or returned, the program hopes to cut overall mission costs.
MIT’s entry, called CERBERUZ, processes mixed waste by grinding it into a fine powder and reinforcing the material with Zotek foam, creating a composite that can be molded or extruded into new parts. The resulting material retains sufficient strength for structural components while remaining lightweight enough for transport.
The approach handles common mission debris such as fabrics, plastics, foam and metal fragments, eliminating the need for extensive sorting before recycling.
CERBERUZ stands for “Composites for Extraterrestrial Recycling By Engineering the Reuse and Upcycling of Zotek,” and the project involves students across MIT. Their collaboration allowed rapid testing of both hardware and software components.
Other awardees include Terasynth, which placed second in the prototype track with its Lunar Re-Forge System, and Penn State’s RECLAIM, recognized for innovation. Cislune earned the Highest Mass Efficiency award, while Team Lovegrove received the Most Trash Types Recycled prize.
Phase 2 follows the 2025 conclusion of the LunaRecycle Challenge’s first stage. A panel of 50 judges evaluated nearly 200 submissions, ultimately selecting 17 winning teams from five countries and nine U.S. states. Judges considered criteria such as mass reduction, energy consumption, and scalability when ranking the entries.
“The LunaRecycle Challenge finale is the culmination of two years of innovation spurred by this competition,” said Jennifer Edmunson, programme manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
