{"id":236581,"date":"2026-06-24T14:32:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T00:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=236581"},"modified":"2026-06-24T14:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T00:37:12","slug":"student-lunar-mission-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/24\/student-lunar-mission-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Student cohort selected for lunar mission design program"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"solar
Illustration of solar array on the moon. Student designs will consider power supply. (Photo credit: NASA<\/abbr>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A cohort of 10 University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> undergraduates was selected to participate in the inaugural LUNADS<\/abbr>—Lunar Undergraduate\/graduate missioN Architecture Design Seminar—a competitive national program run by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL<\/abbr>) under NASA<\/abbr> to engage university students in lunar science and NASA<\/abbr>-style mission design.<\/p>\n

The students are engaged in the Space System Science and Technology program undergraduate minors, either the minor in Earth and Planetary Exploration Technology or the minor in Human Space Flight Technology, administered by the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Institute of Geophysics and Planetology<\/a> (HIGP<\/abbr>) in the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

\"students
Students in the HIGP<\/abbr> programs will extend their work with this new opportunity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“This program gives our undergraduate students direct access to NASA<\/abbr>-style mission design alongside some of the best planetary scientists and engineers in the country—an experience that grows directly from our Earth and Planetary Exploration Technology and Human Space Flight Technology programs and reflects HIGP<\/abbr>\u2019s long-standing commitment to preparing the next generation of space scientists and engineers from Hawaiʻi,”<\/span> said Peter Englert, HIGP<\/abbr> professor and LUNADS<\/abbr> faculty lead and program coordinator.<\/p>\n

Designing a lunar mission concept<\/h2>\n

One of only four university cohorts chosen nationally, the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> students will participate in the program throughout the 2026–2027 academic year. The program includes a Lunar Science Seminar Series, followed by a 10-week Mission Design Seminar in spring 2027 in which they work directly with APL<\/abbr> scientists and engineers to design an actual lunar mission concept—the team chooses the science question and builds the mission. The completed mission architecture will be published on Zenodo, an open-access repository, with all student participants listed as co-authors.<\/p>\n

The students bring diverse academic backgrounds, with majors spanning mechanical engineering (aerospace concentration), astrophysics and kinesiology and rehabilitation science. HIGP<\/abbr> researchers Paul Lucey (lunar remote sensing), Matt Siegler (lunar thermal science and volatiles, such as water, carbon dioxide, and other gases) and Shuai Li (lunar water ice detection) will all serve as faculty advisors.<\/p>\n

“The knowledge, skills and hands-on experiences ahead for these students make LUNADS<\/abbr> participation a direct and meaningful extension of their academic work within HIGP<\/abbr> and 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> programs,” Englert said. “I look forward to seeing where they take this opportunity.”<\/p>\n

For more information, see SOEST<\/abbr>\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A cohort of 10 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> undergraduate students was selected to participate in the Lunar Undergraduate\/graduate missioN Architecture Design Seminar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":236587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[170,406,92,174,9],"class_list":["post-236581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-hawaii-institute-of-geophysics-and-planetology","tag-hawaii-space-flight-laboratory","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-space","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t