One of NASA’s core mission objectives, though not explicitly stated in its charter, is to educate Americans about space exploration, especially students. As part of that mission, NASA hosts a number of challenges every year where teams of students compete to come up with innovative ideas to solve problems. The agency recently announced the next round of one of its standard yearly challenges—the Human Lander Challenge.
The Human Lander Challenge occurs every year, and objectives vary based on the specific problem related to human landers NASA is trying to solve. This year, the focal problem is cryogenic fluid storage.
Currently, no technology exists to store cryogenic fluid in space for long periods, but any lander mission would need to store cryogenic fuel for months. Typically, cryogenics would boil away in that time frame, but large amounts will be required to fuel landers or orbiting stations. Particular problems could focus on low-leakage components, large-scale insulation, or propellant transfer technologies.
Credit – Human Lander Challenge YouTube Channel
To address that problem, NASA is turning to teams of undergraduate or graduate students at some of the top universities in the world. Since this competition repeats annually, some universities have a pedigree of competing in and winning the challenge. This year, the top three teams were from the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, and the University of Colorado-Boulder, all of which would potential field teams to compete this year.
Interested teams will compete in two rounds. The first round of judging will take place in March 2025, and twelve teams will be notified of their invitation to the final round in April. That final round will take place at a forum held in Huntsville, Alabama, in late June next year.
Between now and then, though, teams will able to submit a notice of intent, get their questions answered by NASA experts, and have to submit a proposal. The finalists will receive a cash award to continue their work, involving a full technical paper and slide deck to be presented at the forum.
Details about the challenge are posted on its website. It’s being run through the agency’s Human Landing System Program directorate and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace. If you’re looking for inspiration, the challenge team has also posted a motivational video about the opportunities the challenge presents.
Any technology planned for a detailed assessment would need to be about 3-5 years from maturity, which would align well with the Artemis mission’s timelines. However, it remains to be seen if any solutions will be adopted into the mission architecture. If they are, some students will say they’ve participated in the most challenging human space endeavor in almost 60 years—that’s a pretty good resume builder, if nothing else.
Learn More:
NASA – 2025 Human Lander Challenge
NASA – NASA Announces Winners of Inaugural Human Lander Challenge
UT – NASA Wants Heavy Cargo Landers for the Moon
UT – NASA is Pushing Back its Moon Landings to 2026
Lead Image:
Graphic of the Human Lander Challenge.
Credit – NASA / NIA