Five US Universities Triumph in NASA’s 2024 Human Lander Challenge

Photo: IANS

NEW YORK — NASA has announced that five universities in the United States have emerged victorious in the 2024 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC). These universities presented innovative ideas to tackle the difficult problem of managing lunar dust during the upcoming Artemis Moon exploration mission.

Managing dust during the Artemis mission’s landing is a significant challenge. NASA and its partners are focused on solving this issue as they explore the lunar South Pole and work towards establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon.

The University of Michigan team was named the overall winner and received a $10,000 prize. The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign secured the second place with a $5,000 award, while the University of Colorado Boulder took third place, earning a $3,000 prize.

Additionally, Texas A&M University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott were honored with the Excellence in Systems Engineering award.

These universities were among the 12 finalists chosen in March 2024. They developed systems-level solutions that could be used in the next 3-5 years to manage or prevent the clouds of dust, known as lunar plume surface interaction, that form when a spacecraft lands on the Moon.

The final round of the competition took place from June 25 to 27 near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

Don Krupp, associate program manager for the HLS Program, stated that managing and reducing lunar dust is a significant challenge for NASA. He emphasized that the space agency is dedicated to finding real solutions for maintaining a long-term presence on the Moon’s surface.