A lunar habitat module, paper that captures sound as energy and a drug delivery system for use in space are all concepts being developed for commercialization by high school students competing in the Conrad Foundation’s Innovation Summit.

In 1967, Surveyor 3 landed on the Moon. Two years later, Apollo astronauts visited the little unmanned spacecraft and brought pieces of it home to Earth. Now, a portion of Surveyor's robotic arm, the scoop it used to sample moondust, is teaching researchers some long-lost secrets.

The winners of a national space-oriented high school competition, the Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award, were recognized today in a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The ten finalists for the inaugural Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award will have their ideas on display at the 2007 X PRIZE Cup. Teams of high school students from all over the United States proposed ideas that could accelerate the personal spaceflight industry.

By Dixie Reid, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Sep. 24--They were young once, and brave. They were the Apollo astronauts, men who rode fiery rocket ships to the moon and back a lifetime ago.