Orlando-based Terasynth has taken the next step toward becoming a crucial part of NASA’s efforts to manage and recycle solid waste on deep space missions.
The company was one of six to land $50,000 Phase 1 awards for the space agency’s LunaRecycle program.
LunaRecycle seeks ways to support long-duration human space missions to the moon and Mars.
Terasynth’s “Lunar Re-Forge System” is a digital twin system that transforms lunar habitat food packaging waste into 3D printing materials through a thermal decomposition process.
CEO Ali Mahvan on Wednesday announced the award and the team’s advancement into Phase 2 on LinkedIn.
The program integrates with pressurized lunar habitats, occupying a space equivalent of four standard double lockers. The solution will minimize reliance on Earth-based resupply missions.
While conceptually similar to terrestrial recycling, Terasynth optimized Lunar Re-Forge system for space. To do that, it prioritized resource efficiency, minimal operational footprint, and robust reliability within a closed-loop environment.
The system is engineered for automated operation with minimal crew intervention, focusing on maximizing feedstock yield and minimizing unusable byproducts.
The Lunar Re-Forge system incorporates a sophisticated integrated digital twin. Developed using a modular, physics-based approach and rendered in Unreal Engine 5, this digital replica provides real-time monitoring, simulation, and predictive analytics.
The digital twin’s capabilities extend to real-time simulation and visualization. It also automates control with artificial intelligence and machine learning support for optimization, and virtual prototyping.
Other winners named in the contest’s digital twin track: Acme Space (Sheridan, Wyo.), Cislune (Rosemead, Calif.), Gensler Advanced Concepts (Austin, Texas), PRIME (Houston, Texas), and Esperanza (Tarragona, Spain). The competition drew more than 1,200 submissions from across the globe.