[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33840-33842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11869]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice: (22-041)]


Centennial Challenges Break the Ice Lunar Challenge Phase 2 
Registration

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Phase 2 of the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge is open, and 
teams that wish to compete may now register. NASA seeks to stimulate 
research and technology solutions to support future missions and 
inspire new national aerospace capabilities through public prize 
competitions called Centennial Challenges. The Break the Ice Lunar 
Challenge is one such competition. Centennial Challenges are managed at 
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and are part 
of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within NASA's 
Space Technology Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in 
Washington. Phase 2 of the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge is a prize 
competition with a total prize purse of $3,000,000 USD, (three million 
United States dollars) to be awarded to competitor teams that build and 
successfully demonstrate prototypes of novel excavation and 
transportation technologies that can operate in Lunar environmental 
conditions.

DATES: Phase 2 registration opens June 2, 2022, and will remain open 
until September 30, 2022, (11:59 p.m. Eastern). No further requests for 
registration will be accepted after this date. Other important dates, 
including deadlines for key deliverables from the

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teams, are listed on the Challenge website: www.nasa.gov/breaktheice.

ADDRESSES: Phase 2 of the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge will include 
both virtual and in-person portions. Initial Levels of the Challenge 
will be virtual with competitor teams working on their solutions at a 
facility of their choosing and then submitting the deliverables listed 
in the Official Challenge Rules to NASA. Final Level of the Challenge 
will include an in-person competition at a facility chosen and prepared 
by NASA. Further details about this facility will be posted on the 
Challenge website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register or for additional 
information regarding the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, please visit: 
www.nasa.gov/breaktheice.
    Questions and comments regarding the challenge should be addressed 
to Denise Morris, 256-544-3989, Centennial Challenges Program Manager 
(Acting), NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL 35812. Email 
address: [email protected]. For general 
information on NASA prize competitions, challenges, and crowdsourcing 
opportunities, please visit: www.nasa.gov/solve.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary

    The goal of Phase 2 is to further the development of technologies 
that can excavate and transport large quantities of icy lunar regolith 
and can address the technology gaps listed below. Through a prototype 
demonstration, Teams must show that their solutions address the 
reliability, durability, and traversability challenges these systems 
must overcome to operate for long durations.
    The specific NASA technology gaps that Phase 2 aims to address 
include:

 Excavate large quantities of icy regolith
 Delivery of large quantities of acquired resources
 Hardware and equipment that is lightweight and energy 
efficient
 Hardware and equipment that is reliable and durable
 Hardware and equipment that operates well in extreme lunar 
environmental conditions, including:
    [cir] Reduced gravity
    [cir] Complex terrain including rocks, craters, slopes, and loose 
granular soil

    Successful demonstrations from this challenge will complement 
ongoing NASA investments in lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization 
Technologies. NASA is funding the prize purse and administration of the 
challenge competition. Any eligible individual or organization may 
participate in Phase 2. Teams are not required to have participated in 
Phase 1.

I. Prize Amounts

    The Break the Ice Lunar Challenge Phase 2 total prize purse is 
$3,000,000 USD (three million United States dollars) to be awarded 
across Phase 2 of this competition. There will be three levels in Phase 
2. The winners will be determined by a Judging Panel. Teams must meet 
the eligibility requirements for the NASA prize in order to receive a 
prize from NASA.
     Level 1--All Teams that submit compliant deliverables by 
the submission deadline will receive an equal share of $500,000 prize 
purse up to a maximum of $75,000 per Team.
     Level 2--1st Place--$300,000, 2nd Place--$200,000, 3rd 
Place--$125,000 and up to five (5) runners up with each runner up 
receiving $75,000 for a total prize purse of $1,000,000.
     Level 3--1st Place--$1,000,000 and 2nd Place--$500,000 for 
a total prize purse of $1,500,000. In addition to the cash prizes NASA 
will award opportunities to test concepts in a dusty Thermal Vacuum 
Chamber.

II. Eligibility To Participate and Win Prize Money

    In order to participate in the Challenge, each individual, whether 
acting alone or as part of a Competitor Team must identify their 
nationality.
     No individual competitor shall be a citizen of a country 
on the NASA Export Control Program list of Designated Countries List 
Category II: Countries determined by the Department of State to support 
terrorism. The current list of designated countries can be found at 
http://oiir.hq.nasa.gov/nasaecp. Please check the link for the latest 
updates. This includes individuals with dual citizenship unless they 
are a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card 
holder).
     While China is not a Category II designated country, 
pursuant to Public Law 116-6, Section 530, NASA is prohibited from 
participating, collaborating, or coordinating bilaterally in any way 
with China or any Chinese-owned entity. Team members who are citizens 
of China but not affiliated with a Chinese entity may be permitted to 
participate on a Team.
     Subject to the conditions set forth herein, foreign 
nationals and foreign national Teams can participate in the Challenge. 
However, they are not eligible for a cash prize, and must acknowledge 
acceptance of this by signing and submitting a Foreign Participant 
Acknowledgement Form.
     A competitor Team-designated lead shall be responsible for 
both compliance with the rules (including prize eligibility rules) and 
the actions of all members of the Team.
    In order to be eligible to win a prize:
    1. Individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the 
United States and be 18 years of age or older.
    2. Organizations must be an entity incorporated in and maintaining 
a primary place of business in the United States.
    3. Teams must be comprised of otherwise eligible individuals or 
organizations and led by an otherwise eligible individual or 
organization.
    4. Team leader must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
    A Team may include foreign nationals and be eligible to win prize 
money as long as the foreign national signs and delivers a disclosure 
(separate form) wherein he/she discloses his/her citizenship and 
acknowledge that he/she is not eligible to win a prize from NASA, AND
    1. The foreign national is an employee of an otherwise eligible 
U.S. entity participating in the Challenge,
    2. The foreign national is an owner of such entity, so long as 
foreign citizens own less than 50% of the interests in the entity,
    3. The foreign national is a contractor under written contract to 
such entity, OR
    4. The foreign national is a full-time student, during the time of 
the Challenge, of an otherwise eligible entity which is an accredited 
institution of higher learning, AND the student is during the Challenge 
in the United States on a valid student visa and is otherwise in 
compliance with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations 
regarding the sale and export of technology.
    Teams selected for an award will be required to provide proof of 
citizenship/permanent residency, proof of primary place of business, 
proof of incorporation, and/or proof of student visa. Proof must be 
provided within 3 business days to be eligible for an award. Any Team 
or team member who submitted the required proof documents in Phase 1 
and was deemed eligible to compete will not be required to submit this 
documentation again in Phase 2. Teams must indicate which documents 
from Phase 1 should apply to Phase 2 entry and provide confirmation 
that all documents are still valid. A Team's failure to comply with any 
aspect of the eligibility requirements shall result in

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the Team being disqualified from winning a prize from NASA.
    Interested teams should refer to the official Challenge website 
(www.nasa.gov/breaktheice) for full details on eligibility requirements 
and registration.

III. Official Rules

    The complete official rules for the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, 
can be found at: https://breaktheicechallenge.com/.

Cheryl Parker,
NASA Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-11869 Filed 6-2-22; 8:45 am]
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