Gloucestershire-based NAICKER SCIENTIFIC has won the £150,000 first prize in the UKSA Aqualunar Challenge – the first space challenge prize in British history. This £1.2 million international competition, delivered by Challenge Works (Nesta), sought innovative technologies to purify water from lunar soil for future Moon missions.
Technical Director Lolan Naicker and Ciarán Callaghan triumphed over other teams with their “SonoChem” system. Rather than starting with pre-extracted ice, they designed a complete process beginning with lunar regolith extraction.
Their innovative solution subjects contaminated water to ultrasound, generating millions of microbubbles. When these bubbles collapse, they create localized high temperature and pressure conditions that break down contaminants, producing water suitable for astronaut consumption.
This technology addresses a fundamental challenge for upcoming lunar missions. Water on the Moon isn’t just vital for drinking and growing food – it can be split into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel, enabling sustainable deep space exploration.
Beyond space applications, the technology shows promise for Earth’s water purification challenges. Naicker has already secured collaborations to develop derivatives for portable water devices and effluent treatment systems capable of removing pharmaceuticals and pesticides from water.
Challenge prizes like Aqualunar represent strategic investments in New Space startups, propelling companies like Naicker Scientific toward commercial sustainability and growth while contributing to the space economy. The success of these competitions hinges on targeting challenges with solid business cases. As we advance toward establishing lunar habitats, innovations that both transform Moon resources into necessities for astronauts and create new solutions for global markets will prove most valuable.
Naicker Scientific Wins UKSA Aqualunar Challenge with Lunar Microwave to Purify Water
