Members of the Prudent Landers-FAST team test their prototype using lunar regolith on the Mines campus. They measured the surface temperature of the regolith using a high-temperature sensor gun inside a cast-iron pan, since the pan wouldn’t melt under the high temperatures created by the focused sunlight.
Colorado School of Mines has qualified for the finals of NASA’s 2024 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) Competition.
The Capstone Design student team, comprised of seven mechanical engineers and three electrical engineers, will compete against 11 other collegiate teams this June in Huntsville, Alabama, where they will present their final concept to a panel of NASA and industry experts.
Teams were challenged to design solutions for lunar plume-surface interactions (PSI) for NASA’s Artemis campaign, which will establish a long-term human presence on and around the Moon.
“Everything Mines has taught us has led up to this,” said Ethan Adam, a senior in mechanical engineering and the team leader. “And it’s really paid off.”
Read the full article here from the Mines Newsroom.