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NASA has announced the top student-developed solutions for environmental control and life support systems in future crewed lunar landers from participants in the 2026 Human Lander Challenge. The announcement marks the culmination of months of research by university teams working to advance technologies supporting the agency’s Artemis program that will return American astronauts to the Moon in 2028.

The challenge concluded June 25 following final technical presentations near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Since September 2025, student teams from across the nation have designed systems‑level approaches to enhance the performance and reliability of environmental control and life support technologies essential for astronauts during deep space missions.

“As NASA continues preparing for sustained lunar exploration and future human missions to Mars, the development of robust, efficient, and reliable life support systems remains a critical focus area,” said Natalie Martinez-Vlasoff, mission capabilities and risk reduction advanced capabilities integration lead at NASA Marshall. “The 2026 student teams demonstrated a strong understanding of the range of design choices for these systems, and how well-considered, systems-level approaches can improve reliability and crew safety for astronauts using future human landing systems. It is encouraging to see students contributing ideas that help make long-duration lunar exploration more achievable.”

The finalist teams gathered at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville on June 22 to present their research to a panel of NASA and aerospace industry experts, as well as to their peers, during a collaborative poster session. The annual competition concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing the top-performing teams out of the 12 finalists. 

NASA announced California Polytechnic State University as the overall winner and recipient of the $10,000 top prize award for their Peltier-based Hydration Accumulation Terminal project. Purdue University won second place and a $5,000 award for work on an Enhanced Potable Water Dispenser, followed by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, in third place with a $3,000 award for their Advanced Quality Orbital Rehydration Assembly project.

The Human Lander Challenge is designed to inspire and engage the next generation of engineers and scientists as NASA and its partners prepare to send astronauts to the Moon in preparation for future missions to Mars. The human landing system is the mode of transportation that will take astronauts to the lunar surface and back to lunar orbit under Artemis.

Through competitions like the Human Lander Challenge, NASA fosters the next generation of engineers and researchers while advancing the technologies needed for astronauts to explore deep space. These initiatives support the agency’s exploration goals while cultivating hands-on, problem-solving and systems thinking among future aerospace professionals. Student solutions from the Human Lander Challenge could be incorporated into current work for the next-generation Artemis landers.

NASA’s Human Landing System Program, managed by NASA Marshall, sponsors the challenge, which is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace.

Through the Artemis program, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.  

For more information about the Artemis program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

For NASA’s next generation of deep space exploration missions, spacecraft may need to refuel in Earth orbit before pushing farther into the solar system. Similar to how a gas pump needs a nozzle to fit your fuel tank, future spacecraft could require a special device in order to fill up prior to departure, known as a cryocoupler.

Cryocouplers would allow spacecraft to connect to future orbital propellant depots, which would serve as the gas stations of space. The technology comes with the challenge of reliably transferring cryogenic, or super-cold, fluids without losing propellant or performance. Cryogenic propellants like liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen must stay chilled to hundreds of degrees below zero Fahrenheit, placing strict demands on the materials, seals, and mechanisms that move them.

“In-orbit cryogenic refueling between two spacecraft has yet to be done and remains one of the toughest engineering challenges in spaceflight,” said Travis Belcher,  cryocoupler project manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “These propellant transfers are essential for the kinds of missions NASA wants to fly in the future, so developing a coupler that can handle ultra-cold propellants is a critical step toward making that capability real.”

Ground-based couplers like those used to fill the SLS (Space Launch System) for Artemis missions are not an option for orbiting propellant transfers. Those couplers release quickly while a rocket is launching and must be manually reconnected for the next flight. They also are not designed to operate in the harsh environment of space and are much larger than what would be used to refill an orbiting spacecraft’s fuel tank.

To meet these challenges, NASA tested a cryocoupler developed by L3Harris.

“The cryocouplers we’re working on can attach and detach multiple times and are fully automated, so astronauts won’t have to perform a spacewalk to transfer propellant,” said Belcher. “They’re rigorously designed to withstand space and sized for the expected tank designs.”

A joint NASA and L3Harris team recently conducted two types of tests at NASA Marshall. To ensure the cryocoupler can handle the extremely cold temperatures it will be exposed to, they ran liquid nitrogen at minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit through multiple connected and disconnected configurations to observe how the coupler reacts to thermal contraction, flow, and significant temperature differences between propellant and materials.

The team also put the cryocoupler through operational tests to determine its performance limits. In this setup, one coupler half was mounted to a robotic table that could move and rotate in any direction, allowing it to simulate misaligned docking with the other half, which remained stationary above the table. The cryocoupler is designed to accommodate some misalignment in case a spacecraft and depot are not perfectly aligned when docking.  

“These cryocouplers are very early in development, so the testing is mostly focused on basic functionality,” said Belcher. “Future test campaigns will design them for specific missions and assess them more meticulously based on that mission’s requirements.”

The cryocoupler testing was done as part of a 2022 Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity, a partnership where NASA centers provide select companies with expertise, facilities, hardware, and software at no cost.

The Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio project, a cross-agency team based at NASA Marshall and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, oversees cryocoupler development.

To learn more about cryogenic fluid management, visit:

https://go.nasa.gov/CFM

A mission to raise the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is poised for launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 30, 6:23 a.m. EDT (10:23 p.m. UTC+12), from Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.

A robotic servicing satellite called LINK, built by Katalyst Space, will blast into orbit on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket. LINK will rendezvous with, grapple, and slowly raise Swift’s altitude over several months, preventing it from re-entering Earth’s atmosphere later this year.

“Swift is NASA’s multitool when it comes to studying the cosmos,” said S. Bradley Cenko, principal investigator, Swift, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It observes the sky using a wide range of light and rapidly points at short-lived outbursts, alerting other facilities in space and on the ground to help coordinate follow-up observations. For the last two decades, Swift has been a key player in NASA’s efforts to understand how the universe works, and we’re looking forward to getting back to that work after the boost is complete.”

Our planet’s atmosphere creates drag on all spacecraft in low Earth orbit, gradually reducing their altitudes if they don’t have propulsion systems to counteract the effect.

A recent bout of increased solar activity magnified this impact on Swift, which launched in November 2004.

Rather than allowing Swift to re-enter the atmosphere as many missions do, NASA is using the opportunity to advance the U.S. commercial satellite servicing industry.

In September, the agency contracted Katalyst to attempt to boost the observatory. The company would have less than one year to design, build, test, and launch a satellite to meet, grab, and lift Swift to nearly its original orbit.

“Swift wasn’t designed to be serviced,” said Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst. “By demonstrating we can quickly and cost-effectively extend its lifetime, we’re creating a blueprint for servicing spacecraft that were never designed for on-orbit maintenance. If we’re going to build an enduring presence beyond Earth, we need the capability to manipulate our environment in space. That means deploying robotic spacecraft that can reposition, repair, refuel, and refit satellites after launch.”

The LINK spacecraft weighs about 880 pounds and stands about 5 feet tall, about a third of Swift’s overall size. Nearly 20 feet of solar panels will power three ion thrusters and a trio of robotic arms.

LINK completed environmental testing that mimicked launch and space-like conditions at NASA Goddard this spring, as well as additional preflight assessments at Katalyst’s facility in Broomfield, Colorado.

For the boost to have its best chance of success, Swift needs to stay above an altitude of about 185 miles.

By the end of last year, however, orbital predictions generated by NASA showed the observatory reaching that threshold as early as July.

To slow Swift’s descent, the operations team at Penn State’s Eberly College of Science altered how they managed and oriented the spacecraft.

Unlike during normal operating procedures, where Swift looks at spots on the sky that are scientifically interesting, the team now selects targets that steer Swift into the most streamlined position. They also reduced power consumption as much as possible to place the satellite’s large solar panels in a more aerodynamic orientation.

Recent orbital predictions show these changes will keep Swift above critical altitude until this fall.

The satellite will launch aboard the Pegasus XL.

“We can deploy Pegasus from almost anywhere in the world using our Stargazer, a modified L-1011 aircraft,” said Wes Collier, vice president of launch systems at Northrop Grumman. “That combination of flexibility and responsive access to space will help LINK quickly reach Swift, giving the teams time to complete the boost.”

Earlier this month, engineers loaded LINK into the Pegasus XL and attached the rocket to Stargazer at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The aircraft and its payload departed for Kwajalein Atoll on Thursday, June 18, where it now awaits launch.

Once in orbit, LINK will undergo several weeks of commissioning as Katalyst evaluates the spacecraft’s propulsion, navigation, and sensor systems. It then will slowly approach and survey Swift before grabbing the observatory with its robotic arms and slowly raising the orbit to nearly 370 miles.

“This is a high-risk, high-reward mission,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, division director, Astrophysics, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Swift plays a notable role in our fleet. We have much to gain by attempting this boost, which is more affordable than trying to replace Swift’s capabilities and allows NASA to advance the nation’s satellite servicing industry, for the benefit of all.”

Learn more about the Swift boost at:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/swift-boost-mission/

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Media contacts:
Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546

Claire Andreoli
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-1940

NASA selected 41 proposals from 37 companies to advance technologies in support of the agency’s goals to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and enable human exploration of Mars.

These American companies, picked from NASA’s 2025 Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO), will mature technologies creating solutions for space transportation, planetary surface operations, and lunar surface infrastructure.

“We are empowering American industry to become active partners in NASA’s missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” said Greg Stover, director, Advanced Research and Technology Division in the agency’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By tapping into commercial industry, NASA can rapidly develop key capabilities to support its most ambitious missions while fostering the nation’s robust space economy.”

NASA’s ACO establishes mutually beneficial partnerships between the agency and industry without the exchange of funds. Through this opportunity, companies leverage NASA’s specialized facilities, software, hardware, and subject matter experts, allowing them to rapidly mature their technologies for both commercial markets and future government missions.

Since launching the first ACO in 2015, NASA has supported more than 110 projects. The total estimated value of agency resources to support the agreements is approximately $30 million, which leverages an additional $32 million of industry contributions. The period of performance will be negotiated for each agreement, with an expected duration of 12 to 24 months.

Industry proposers were tasked with responding to agency technology topics that would benefit from the rapid development enabled by a public-private partnership, including space transportation engine elements, guidance and navigation systems, landing systems, in-space servicing assembly and manufacturing, and energy management technologies.

The complete list of selections can be found on the agency’s website and span cross-cutting capabilities, including:

Power generation

Lockheed Martin will mature a modular, compact energy solution that could support sustained power generation in the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions, helping future crew and resources survive the long lunar night. The company’s wireless power transfer system aims to advance power-beaming technology using fiber lasers and a space-based heat rejection system for durability.

In-space logistics

To enhance orbital missions, Kall Morris Inc. will develop Asteria, a supplemental payload attachment system. Asteria can attach to legacy, current, and next-generation orbital assets using a non-destructive, controlled-release adhesive without requiring pre-installed infrastructure. This technology enables advanced maneuvering, improved object tracking, asset protection, data collection, and satellite life extension.

Dust mitigation technology

Moonprint Solutions, a small business, is proposing flexible isolation covers to protect critical hardware and systems from abrasive dust in the harsh lunar environment. Flexible covers provide a strategic advantage by offering protection that conforms to complex shapes for a variety of hardware. These durable covers could be used on rovers, robotic joints, hoses, and other articulated equipment to support long-term operations on the Moon and Mars.

Selected projects could make a significant impact on the commercial space sector, such as expanding existing or opening new markets, lowering price, increasing choice, or providing entirely new capabilities.

Organizations interested in developing space technology with NASA can explore opportunities online.

For more information about NASA’s space technology investments, visit:

www.nasa.gov/spacetech

-end-

Jennifer Dooren / Rob Margetta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
jennifer.m.dooren@nasa.gov / robert.j.margetta@nasa.gov

Euclid, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with NASA contributions, took a new look at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, seen in this image released on June 24, 2026. This observation overlaps with a region scientists will observe with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching later this summer. This sneak peek gives astronomers a major jumpstart on a core Roman survey, helping scientists learn more than they could from either telescope alone.

Read more about Euclid and what Roman will see.

Image credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CFHT, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre and E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay)

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