Moon landings can be risky and blind, due to billowing dust clouds. To assure future successful missions, the (NASA) issued a challenge to colleges and universities across the nation to propose a plan to launch and land spacecraft on the Moon¡¯²õ surface without blowing dust and debris on sensitive equipment.
The challenge was met by a team of undergraduate students from 10 colleges and universities that convened during NASA¡¯²õ , which was held in summer 2019.
Vincent Murai of was the only student from Â鶹´«Ã½ and only one of two students from a two-year college to make that team, which became known as the Artemis Generation.
“I like being a lab rat for new ideas, so I went for it,” Murai said about his decision to apply for L¡¯SPACE. “Little did I know how important that decision would be.”
Flowering design
The team built a subscale prototype pad using cement-based material and a gantry print system developed by ICON, a 3D printing and robotics company. Eventually, the landing pad could be made from fine, powdery material found on the Moon, called lunar regolith.
The team¡¯²õ design, called the Lunar Plume Alleviation Device (PAD), addresses the problems caused when the force of a rocket¡¯²õ powerful exhaust contacts the dusty lunar surface. The Lunar PAD uses a series of petal-like channels that send exhaust upward and outward, minimizing the volume of dust expelled during launch and landing.
“It¡¯²õ very practical, very efficient, and just so happens to also be very beautiful,” Murai said. He plans to earn an associate in science degree with a concentration in engineering from Kapiʻolani CCthis semester, and is already taking classes at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹, where he will major in mechanical engineering with a focus on sustainability.
The team worked hundreds of hours in collaboration with NASA subject-matter experts, beginning with a concept, moving to formulation and eventually to a preliminary design.
ICON¡¯²õ Head of Design Michael McDaniel said, “This is the first milestone on the journey to making off-world construction a reality, which will allow humanity to stay¡ªnot just visit the stars.”
—By Louise Yamamoto