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 ended on June 25 after final technical presentations near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Starting in September 2025, student teams from across the country have designed system-level approaches to enhance the performance and reliability of environmental control and life support technologies essential to astronauts during deep space missions.
“As NASA prepares for continued 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 Martínez-Vlasoff, who leads the integration of advanced mission capabilities and risk reduction at NASA Marshall. “The 2026 student teams demonstrated a strong understanding of the range of design options for these systems, and how well-considered, system-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-term lunar exploration more achievable.”
Finalist teams gathered to present their research to a panel of NASA and aerospace industry experts as well as their peers during a collaborative poster session at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville on June 22. The annual competition culminated with an awards ceremony honoring the top performing teams from among the 12 finalists.
NASA announced California Polytechnic State University as the overall winner and recipient of the $10,000 top prize award for its Peltier-based Hydration Accumulation Terminal project. Purdue University won second place and a $5,000 prize, followed by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, for its work on an advanced drinking water dispenser. Placed third with a $3,000 prize for its 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 into 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 developing practical, problem-solving and systems thinking among future aerospace professionals. Student solutions from the Human Lander Challenge can be incorporated into ongoing work on next-generation Artemis landers.
NASA’s Human Landing System Program, managed by NASA Marshall, sponsors this 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 benefit, and lay the foundation for the first crewed mission to Mars – for the benefit of everyone.
For more information about the Artemis program visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
