While the NASA hopes to send humans to the Moon again and increase the number of manned missions there before establishing a colony, the American space agency is trying to anticipate all possible scenarios.
The agency is appealing to the general public to help it think of a solution that would save astronauts on the surface of the Moon, whether they are simply injured, fainted or even disabled.
During the Apollo missions, and in particular Apollo 11 which brought the first man to the Moon, no emergency protocol was established in the event of a fall or serious problem affecting one of the astronauts. The mission did not tolerate any failure, and if Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong had been unable to return to the module on their own, Michael Collins, the third astronaut would not have been able to save them, he would have returned alone on Earth. Then-President Nixon had planned a speech in case of trouble, which fortunately was not delivered.
The NASA does not wish to reproduce this situation and is therefore studying emergency protocols which would make it possible to transport a fainted astronaut in order to bring him to a secure SAS to be able to save him.
Impossible for astronauts to carry each other: the Axiom suit is not designed for this: too heavy, with limited movement capabilities, it would not allow a body to be dragged onto the moon efficiently or secure.
NASA therefore launched a challenge called Southern Pole Safety: Designing the NASA Lunar Rescue System, open since November 14 until January 23. He invites everyone to propose a protocol or system allowing one or more astronauts to be moved over a distance of 2 km with a slope of 20° without being attached to a rover. Everything must withstand conditions of extreme cold and heat (from -200 to +55°C) and resist lunar dust.
The agency collects proposals on this site, and three projects will be selected with 45 000$ to gain in everything, including $20,000 for the winning project.
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