Undergraduate and graduate student teams are challenged to design solutions to understand, mitigate, and manage the dust plumes astronauts will encounter during lunar landings. Applications are due March 4, 2024.

When Artemis astronauts land on the Moon, their spacecraft will stir up a cloud of dust. This effect is called plume-surface interaction (PSI) and it can increase risks caused by lunar dust. NASA’s 2024 HuLC competition seeks near-term, innovative solutions that can help NASA understand, mitigate, and manage the impacts of lunar PSI. Potential solutions might include development of dust shields, creating flight instrumentation dedicated to managing plume surface interactions, finding ways to see through the dust cloud during landing, or tracking dust during ascent and descent.

How to Compete in the HuLC Competition:

1. Thoroughly review this document (and the challenge website).
2. Find a qualified advisor and a team of students with diverse skills.
3. Ensure that your team meets the eligibility requirements.
4. Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) by the deadline. Please note that the NOI is non-binding.
5. It is recommended that interested teams participate in scheduled Question & Answer Sessions.
6. Develop and submit a proposal and video by the deadline.
7. Submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the HuLC judges.
8. Selected teams will advance as finalists invited to attend the HuLC Forum in June 2024.
9. Participation in the HuLC Forum includes a presentation and submission of a technical paper, technical poster, and/or design model or prototype demonstration (if applicable to team’s proposed concept), by the appropriate deadlines.

Website: www.hulc.nianet.org

Managing Organization: National Institute of Aerospace

Contact:

hulc@nianet.org

Eligibility:
HuLC is open to full-time undergraduate and graduate students at an accredited U.S.-based university. Teams may include senior capstone students, clubs, multi-university teams, or multi-disciplinary teams. University Design Teams must include:

• Team sizes vary widely, but must contain, at a minimum, one faculty advisor with an affiliation at the primary proposing university, and 2 students from that U.S.-based university who work on the project and present at the HuLC Forum. There is no limit to the number of students who can participate throughout the year on a team.
• If finalist teams desire to bring more than 10 students to the HuLC Forum, permission must be requested from the HuLC Program Staff prior to registering. Requests will be reviewed, and approvals will be granted on a case-by-case basis, space permitting.
• A faculty advisor is strongly encouraged to attend the Forum with each team.
• The Forum offers faculty networking opportunities that can lead to exciting new partnerships and/or future collaboration opportunities that are beneficial to the universities. Additionally, teams with involved faculty advisors tend to become more competitive in NASA competitions each year.

Registration Opens: March 15, 2023

Registration Closes: March 5, 2024

Undergraduate and graduate student teams are challenged to design solutions to understand, mitigate, and manage the dust plumes astronauts will encounter during lunar landings. Applications are due March 4, 2024.

When Artemis astronauts land on the Moon, their spacecraft will stir up a cloud of dust. This effect is called plume-surface interaction (PSI) and it can increase risks caused by lunar dust. NASA’s 2024 HuLC competition seeks near-term, innovative solutions that can help NASA understand, mitigate, and manage the impacts of lunar PSI. Potential solutions might include development of dust shields, creating flight instrumentation dedicated to managing plume surface interactions, finding ways to see through the dust cloud during landing, or tracking dust during ascent and descent.

1. Thoroughly review this document (and the challenge website).
2. Find a qualified advisor and a team of students with diverse skills.
3. Ensure that your team meets the eligibility requirements.
4. Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) by the deadline. Please note that the NOI is non-binding.
5. It is recommended that interested teams participate in scheduled Question & Answer Sessions.
6. Develop and submit a proposal and video by the deadline.
7. Submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the HuLC judges.
8. Selected teams will advance as finalists invited to attend the HuLC Forum in June 2024.
9. Participation in the HuLC Forum includes a presentation and submission of a technical paper, technical poster, and/or design model or prototype demonstration (if applicable to team’s proposed concept), by the appropriate deadlines.

Website: www.hulc.nianet.org

Managing Organization: National Institute of Aerospace

Contact:

hulc@nianet.org

Eligibility:
HuLC is open to full-time undergraduate and graduate students at an accredited U.S.-based university. Teams may include senior capstone students, clubs, multi-university teams, or multi-disciplinary teams. University Design Teams must include:

• Team sizes vary widely, but must contain, at a minimum, one faculty advisor with an affiliation at the primary proposing university, and 2 students from that U.S.-based university who work on the project and present at the HuLC Forum. There is no limit to the number of students who can participate throughout the year on a team.
• If finalist teams desire to bring more than 10 students to the HuLC Forum, permission must be requested from the HuLC Program Staff prior to registering. Requests will be reviewed, and approvals will be granted on a case-by-case basis, space permitting.
• A faculty advisor is strongly encouraged to attend the Forum with each team.
• The Forum offers faculty networking opportunities that can lead to exciting new partnerships and/or future collaboration opportunities that are beneficial to the universities. Additionally, teams with involved faculty advisors tend to become more competitive in NASA competitions each year.

Registration Opens: March 15, 2023

Registration Closes: March 5, 2024