Announcing the winners of the Aqualunar Challenge
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the UK Track of the Aqualunar Challenge, a £1.2 million international competition to drive innovation in water purification technologies for lunar exploration. The UK track, delivered on behalf of the UK Space Agency, is paving the way for human habitation on the Moon by providing access to clean water.
At our awards celebration at Canada House in London in March 2025, the SonoChem System, developed by Gloucestershire-based Naicker Scientific Ltd, was awarded the grand prize of £150,000. This groundbreaking innovation, inspired by the technology found in a humble kitchen microwave, uses microwaves and ultrasound to purify water extracted from the Moon’s frozen soil, a crucial step in supporting long-term lunar missions.
LOLAN NAICKER: THE SEVEN PHASES
Innovation in lunar water purification
Led by Lolan Naicker, Naicker Scientific’s SonoChem System employs cutting-edge ultrasonic technology to generate millions of microbubbles in melted lunar ice. These microbubbles create extreme temperatures and pressures that break down contaminants, producing safe, drinkable water for astronauts. “Imagine digging up the soil in your back garden in the middle of winter and trying to extract frozen water to drink,” says Lolan Naicker. “Now imagine doing it in an environment that is -200°C, a nearly perfect vacuum, under low gravity, and with very little electrical power. That’s what we will have to overcome on the Moon. If we can make the SonoChem System work there, we can make it work anywhere, whether that’s on Mars’ glaciers, or here on Earth in regions where accessing clean water is still a challenge”.
NASA has set the goal of establishing a permanent crewed base on the Moon by the end of the decade. The Artemis programme, as it is known, is supported by the UK Space Agency through its membership of the European Space Agency. Astronauts will need a reliable supply of water for drinking and growing food, as well as oxygen for air and hydrogen for fuel. 5.6% of the soil (known as ‘regolith’) around the Moon’s south pole is estimated to be water frozen as ice. If it can be successfully extracted, separated from the soil and purified, it makes a crewed base viable.
Celebrating our runners-up
Two other teams were also recognised for their outstanding contributions.
First Runner-Up
FRANK (Filtered Regolith Aqua Neutralisation Kit), developed by RedSpace Ltd, a father-and-sons team from Aldershot, won the first runner-up prize and was awarded £100,000.
FRANK uses a three-stage approach designed to deliver a continuous flow of drinking-grade water in a lunar environment that would first heat the lunar soil (regolith) sample in a sealed chamber to separate off volatile gases and leave a liquid of water, methanol and regolith fragments. The liquid is passed through a membrane to remove solid particles. The remaining liquid is distilled to separate the methanol from the water.
Second Runner-Up
AquaLunarPure, developed by a team from Queen Mary University of London, won the second runner-up prize and was awarded £50,000.
The team’s system transforms melted lunar ice into “supercritical water,” a state in which oxidation removes all contaminants in a single step. A reactor would first heat lunar ice to leave behind dust and rock particles, then heat it to more than 373°C at 220 bars of pressure to turn it into “supercritical water” – not a solid, a liquid or a gas, but a fourth state that appears like a thick vapour – in which oxidation will remove all the contaminants in one step. Direct heating and insulation contribute to the high energy efficiency of this reactor, compared to current state of the art technologies.
Impact beyond the moon
The Aqualunar Challenge has not only advanced technologies for lunar exploration but also holds promise for solving water scarcity challenges here on Earth.
The Aqualunar Challenge was set up to overcome one of the most significant obstacles to humans surviving on the Moon or other planets – the availability of clean drinking water.
“By teaming up with our Canadian partners and harnessing the wealth of talent and creativity found across the UK, the challenge has uncovered a range of new ideas, including Naicker Scientific’s SonoChem system.
“Many of these ideas could not only fuel future space exploration, but also help improve lives and solve water shortages here on Earth – mitigating the impacts of climate change as we work towards a net zero future, a key ambition in our Plan for Change.
The future of space innovation
In July 2024, ten finalist teams were awarded £30,000 each in seed funding, alongside expert mentoring, tailored webinars, an international bootcamp and access to testing facilities, before their final submission in January 2025. Many of these teams have since secured additional investment and commercial opportunities as a result of their participation.
Challenge prizes are open innovation competitions that level the playing field for innovators whether they are well-established in a sector or coming to it for the first time – rewarding ideas rather than reputations.
The Aqualunar Challenge successfully attracted new entrants to work in the space sector – a sector that already generates £19 billion of income a year in the UK, but where there is great potential for growth. Competing teams have reported back that participating in the prize has helped them secure investment and open up commercial conversations to grow their businesses.
There may only be one first prize, but the Aqualunar Challenge has produced many winners.
With the potential to revolutionise space exploration and impact life on Earth, the Aqualunar Challenge has demonstrated the power of innovation in tackling global and interplanetary challenges.
To learn more about the Aqualunar Challenge and discover the finalists and winning teams, visit aqualunarchallenge.org.uk
