NASA is crowdsourcing the next step of its mission to Mars.

The US space agency has put out the call for test methods and procedures to assess the next generation of space suit textile materials.

The successful candidate stands to win $15,000 in prizes.

Current space suits are designed for operations in low-Earth orbit, where the primary environmental hazards are temperature, vacuum, radiation, puncture, and micrometeoroids.

But exploration in deep space will require even more protection to withstand planetary environments such as those on Mars and large asteroids.

A major consideration in these environments is the difference in the dirt and dust compared to those on Earth. As of now, no standard way exists to assess the protection performance of newly developed environmental protection garment designs versus current and past designs.

“NASA is developing the next generation of suit technologies that will enable deep space exploration by incorporating advancements in science and technology,” said Jason Crusan, director of Advanced Exploration Systems in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

“We have learned a lot about space suit performance through our experience on the International Space Station, and designing for a planetary surface will require us to build on that knowledge.”

“Possible approaches might include, but are not limited to, a device to tumble a mounted material sample and simulated Martian dirt, modification of standard wear testing devices, or modification of non-destructive examination techniques for textile applications,” a statement from NASA says.

“Participants are encouraged to consider innovative and creative methods beyond these examples.”

Test procedures should be able to replicate fibre degradation of material previously exposed to lunar dust/dirt as well as indicate the size and quantity of particles that migrate through the different layers of the garment,

Additionally, they must catalogue/quantify any degradation of the layers (cuts, abrasion, colour changes, reduction in tear or tensile strength, reduction in thermal isolation).

NASA expects to make up to three awards of $5,000 each from a total award pool of $15,000.

Details of previous work in the field have been provided (in PDF form) to give budding contestants a good start, including; Abrasion Testing of Candidate Outer Layer Fabrics for Lunar EVA Space Suits, Phase VI Glove Durability Testing and Electron Microscopy Abrasion Analysis.

Information on how to enter is available here.