Even 384,000 kilometres from Earth, taking out the garbage is still an unavoidable chore. As NASA prepares for a long-term presence on the moon through the Artemis program, the agency faces a familiar challenge — how to manage waste sustainably.
To address this, NASA created the LunaRecycle Challenge, a $3 million initiative aimed at developing systems to recycle mission waste directly on the moon. Instead of shipping trash back to Earth, the goal is to turn packaging, worn textiles, and leftover experiment materials into useful resources.
Early-stage winning concepts include transforming packaging scraps into raw feedstock for 3D-printed tools, reprocessing clothing into new textiles, and converting discarded materials into parts for future repairs. Beyond physical reuse, NASA is also targeting the recovery of oxygen, water, and metals, all of which are critical for long-term lunar survival.
The implications of space recycling technology go far beyond lunar missions. The same closed-loop systems designed for astronauts could one day improve recycling efficiency in remote areas, disaster zones, and off-grid communities on Earth.
The exchange of innovation also works in reverse. Recycled materials from Earth are already being engineered into aerospace applications. Aluminum alloys recovered from scrap, recycled carbon fibers, and reclaimed rare earth magnets are now used in critical components such as airframes, engine housings, brackets, and structural parts. These are not secondary uses — they are high-performance aerospace systems built from recycled feedstock.
Both space agencies and commercial aerospace manufacturers are rethinking the entire material life cycle. From building launch components with recycled metals to designing spacesuits with end-of-life recovery in mind, recycling is becoming a design principle, not just an afterthought.
Ultimately, the lessons learned through moon recycling and closed-loop resource systems will influence how we build sustainable cities, resilient infrastructure, and advanced industries here on Earth. If we can recycle in space, there is no excuse for not advancing circular economy practices on our own planet.
This article originally appeared as a Letter from the Editor in the September/October issue of Recycling Product News.