Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative

Lunar Autonomy Challenge: Selected Teams

December 6, 2024 NeRD

Congratulations to the selected teams and their schools who will participate in the Lunar Autonomy Challenge! 31 teams were selected for the qualifying round, engaging 229 students from colleges and universities in 15 states. Teams will now move on to a Qualifying Round where they will virtually explore and map the lunar surface using a digital twin of NASA’s lunar mobility robot, the ISRU Pilot Excavator (IPEx). Teams will develop software that can perform set actions without human intervention, navigating the digital IPEx in the harsh, low-light conditions of the Moon. The Qualifying Round will extend to February 28, when…

Student Teams to Help Fill the Inflatable Void with Latest Student Challenge

February 29, 2024 NeRD

3 Min Read Student Teams to Help Fill the Inflatable Void with Latest Student Challenge This year will be a “BIG” year for several college and university teams as they research, design, and demonstrate novel inflatable systems configured for future lunar operations through a NASA-sponsored engineering competition. NASA’s Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge asked student innovators to propose novel inflatable component and system concepts that could benefit future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The Inflatable Systems for Lunar Operations theme allowed teams to submit various…

University of Utah takes top honors in BIG Idea Lunar Forge Challenge

November 21, 2023 NeRD

A member of the winning team of NASA’s 2023’s BIG Idea Challenge working on their Lunar Forge project, Production of Steel from Lunar Regolith through Carbonyl Iron Refining (CIR). University of Utah Through Artemis, NASA plans to conduct long-duration human and robotic missions on the lunar surface in preparation for future crewed exploration of Mars. Expanding exploration capabilities requires a robust lunar infrastructure, including practical and cost-effective ways to construct a lunar base. One method is employing in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) – or the ability to use naturally occurring resources…

Student innovators invited to develop BIG ideas for lunar inflatables

October 17, 2023 NeRD

With its “Inflatable Systems for Lunar Operations” theme, NASA’s 2024 Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge invites student innovators to build and demonstrate how their concepts can benefit future missions to the Moon and beyond. Inflatable systems could greatly reduce the mass and stowed volume of science and exploration payloads, which is critical for lowering delivery costs to deep space destinations. As the first step in the next era of human space exploration, NASA’s Artemis program brings together commercial, international, and academic partners to explore the Moon for the…