"With a surface temperature in excess of 840 degrees Fahrenheit and a surface pressure 90 times that of Earth, Venus can turn lead into a puddle and crush a nuclear-powered submarine with ease," NASA said.

"While many missions have visited our sister planet, only about a dozen have made contact with the surface of Venus before quickly succumbing to the oppressive heat and pressure."

Don't have an engineering degree? Doesn't matter. Never seen a spacecraft in real life? No problem.

"JPL is interested in all approaches, regardless of technical maturity," NASA said.

Great. What's the catch?

"Current state-of-the-art electronics fail at just over 250 degrees Fahrenheit and would easily succumb to the extreme Venus environment. That is why NASA is turning to the global community of innovators and inventors for a solution."

But the sensor has to be more than just ridiculously rugged.

That sounds tough. Why bother going to Venus?

"This is an exciting opportunity for the public to design a component that could one day end up on another celestial body," said Ryon Stewart, challenge coordinator for the NASA Tournament Lab.

"NASA recognizes that good ideas can come from anywhere and that prize competitions are a great way to engage the public's interest and ingenuity and make space exploration possible for everyone."

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Here's your chance to design equipment for NASA's proposed Venus rover and win $15,000 - CNN