NASA Names 2026 Human Lander Challenge Winners for Advanced Life‑Support Systems

NASA has announced the leading student‑developed designs for environmental control and life‑support systems in future crewed lunar landers, as part of the 2026 Human Lander Challenge. The announcement concludes months of research by university teams pushing forward technologies that will support the Artemis program’s 2028 lunar missions.

The competition ended on June 25 after final technical presentations held near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Beginning in September 2025, student teams from across the United States proposed system‑level solutions to boost the performance and reliability of life‑support technologies essential for deep‑space astronauts.

“As NASA continues to prepare for sustained lunar exploration and future human missions to Mars, the development of robust, efficient, and reliable life‑support systems remains a priority,” said Natalie Martinez‑Vlasoff, mission capabilities and risk‑reduction advanced capabilities integration lead at NASA Marshall. “The 2026 student teams demonstrated a strong grasp of design options for these systems, showing how well‑thought‑out, system‑level approaches can enhance reliability and crew safety on future human landing systems. It is encouraging to see students contributing ideas that make long‑duration lunar exploration more attainable,” she added.

The finalists convened at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center on June 22 to present their research to a panel of NASA and aerospace industry experts, as well as to their peers, during a collaborative poster session. The annual challenge culminated in an awards ceremony that honored the top teams out of twelve finalists.

California Polytechnic State University was named the overall winner, receiving a $10,000 prize for its Peltier‑based Hydration Accumulation Terminal project. Purdue University secured second place and a $5,000 award for its Enhanced Potable Water Dispenser. Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach earned third place, taking a $3,000 prize for its Advanced Quality Orbital Rehydration Assembly.

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 advance of future missions to Mars. The human landing system provides the transportation that will deliver astronauts to the lunar surface and return them to lunar orbit under Artemis.

Through competitions like the Human Lander Challenge, NASA nurtures future engineers and researchers while advancing technologies needed for deep‑space exploration. These initiatives support the agency’s exploration goals and cultivate hands‑on problem‑solving and systems thinking among aspiring aerospace professionals. Student solutions from the challenge may be incorporated into current work on the next‑generation Artemis landers.

NASA’s Human Landing System Program, managed by NASA Marshall, sponsors the challenge, which is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace.

Through the Artemis program, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to lay the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – benefiting all.

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