NASA Selects Nine University Teams to Support Space Habitats and Deep Space Exploration Missions
NASA and the National Space Grant Foundation selected nine university teams to support space habitats and deep space exploration missions. The selections are part of the Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge sponsored by NASA’s Mars Campaign Office.
The M2M X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for NASA to build strategic partnerships with universities and tap into the ingenuity of the future workforce. The challenge provides STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students interested in aerospace careers with hands-on development and research experience, while strengthening NASA capability for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Past student participants have gone on to careers in the aerospace industry, including at NASA.
Universities in support of the M2M X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge will advance science and technology innovations for space habitats and deep space exploration missions with the following projects:
From Dust to Defense: A Regolith-Integrated Galactic Garage for Lunar Repair, Protection, and Long-Term Operations
Colorado School of Mines
This work is a student-led effort to develop and validate a regolith-integrated lunar garage concept to support inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) of Artemis surface mission assets and architecture. The system will combine a deployable structural framework with an engineered regolith overburden protection layer to mitigate hazards from radiation, micrometeoroids, and thermal cycling in the lunar environment, while enabling human accessible maintenance operations for Lunar Terrain Vehicle class systems and other mission-critical infrastructure.
Thriving in Space on Long Duration Exploration Missions
Michigan Tech University
The project will be implemented within Michigan Tech Universities systems engineering design process taught through a sequence of Mechanical Engineering Practice courses and Senior Capstone Design. The design challenge and project scope is to deliver a detailed report and preliminary prototype of a concept which supports the psychological health and well-being of crew in a long-duration mission that meets the requirements of having low mass, operating in microgravity, and promoting a sense of satisfaction and familiarity in the crew’s downtime. This will be accomplished through the introduction of a chocolate production system which can supplement food systems and allow for baking as a hobby in space.
Modular Smart Chest Strap with Integrated Textile Biosensing and Microfluidic Sweat Analysis for Astronaut Health Monitoring During Exercise
Rice University
In this work students will create a wearable monitoring prototype that maintains reliable sensor–skin contact, acquires usable physiological signals during motion, transports and analyzes sweat without relying on gravity, and integrates the resulting data into a compact, wearable format. We propose developing a modular, smart, chest-strap wearable system for real-time physiological monitoring during mission-relevant activities in spaceflight. The system will capture multimodal data during periods of elevated strain—such as exercise, EVA preparation, and recovery—when early indicators of astronaut health risks, including hypoxia, decompression stress, dehydration, and thermal strain, are most likely to emerge. The system will combine textile-based sensing for ECG, heart rate, respiration, and skin temperature with a detachable sweat-analysis module to provide contextual information on hydration and physiological workload. Students will define requirements, develop concepts, conduct trade studies, prototype subsystems, test performance, and iterate toward a functional demonstration article. Technical work will be divided across textile sensing, electronics, microfluidics, data acquisition, packaging, and system integration.
Intra-vehicular Activity (IVA) Suit Bladder Refurbishment and Extra-vehicular Activity (EVA) Outer-Layer Repair Kit for Lunar/Mars Surface Operations
University of Arizona
This work will focus on extending the usable life of each suit through effective repair and maintenance strategies offers a more efficient and reliable approach. Developing methods that allow astronauts to address damage and wear as it occurs will help reduce mission risk while also lowering overall system cost. By focusing on practical repair techniques and preventative maintenance, the work supports a shift toward suits that are not only high-performing but also maintainable by the crew using limited resources. The ability to restore structural integrity during EVA and address material degradation between EVAs contributes to mission resilience, especially in harsh lunar conditions where abrasion and wear are persistent challenges.
MIRACLE Galactic Garage: A Deployable Lunar Service Hub for Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair
University of Arizona
The MIRACLE (Mobile Inflatable Robotic Autonomous Containment for Lunar Exploration) Galactic Garage is a deployable, scalable lunar surface infrastructure concept designed to enable sustained inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) operations for robotic and crewed assets under Artemis-class mission conditions. The selected IMR capability is 3D inspection and nondestructive evaluation (NDE), with potential interfaces for future cleaning or repair systems. This includes a 3D inspection and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) system that autonomously scans assets to detect dust accumulation, geometric deformation, and surface damage, providing the basis for enabling condition-based maintenance and lifecycle extension
Reducing EMU System Mass via Advanced Technologies and Innovative Operations
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland Space Systems Laboratory will develop, model, and test innovative concepts to determine the most effective architecture for extravehicular mobility units as a function of their mass and local weight. It will build on extensive experience in EVA operations and spacesuit design research performed at the University of Maryland Space Systems Laboratory, as well as existing systems and facilities there. Undergraduates will be mentored by faculty while designing and fabricating all necessary new experimental hardware, along with needed upgrades to existing hardware including EVA support systems such as the VERTEX and RAVEN rovers, MX-D spacesuit simulators, and portable life support system designs developed in earlier XHab projects.
Utilizing Space Temperatures for Atmosphere Management
University of Michigan
The project aims to develop concepts for a thermal-swing air revitalization system that removes H₂O and CO₂ using adsorption and desorption processes. The final deliverables of this project include high-fidelity CAD renderings of the proposed design, a functional prototype for system validation and testing, and a final written report of the overall design process. The prototype is a series of airflow chambers with dedicated sorbents to capture H₂O and CO₂. The air revitalization system leverages cryogenic environments on the Moon and Mars through a dual heat exchanger (HX) loop architecture integrated with an air bypass network. Four sorbent beds, each containing H₂O and CO₂ chambers, are arranged in parallel flow paths, allowing air to traverse between paths for continuous adsorption and regeneration. The HX loops redistribute and reject heat to the environment, reducing reliance on active cooling. This approach lowers power consumption, mass, and system complexity while improving operational flexibility and reliability for long-duration and dormant mission phases. However, the H2O Chambers will be cooled to just above water’s freezing point. More in-depth analysis of integration methods will be conducted using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques in order to maximize the system’s performance. The NASA Equivalent System Mass (ESM) will be used to evaluate our system by converting system mass, power, volume, cooling, and crew time into a single metric . The ESM of our system will be compared to existing air revitalization systems, such as the FBCO.
Dust-Tolerant Life Support: Are Filters Enough?
University of North Texas
A senior design team will design, build, and test a prototype air revitalization subsystem to support functional studies relevant to NASA’s life support system development for Lunar and/or Martian exploration. Specifically, the project will investigate a Vortex Phase Separator based humidity control subsystem employing a regenerable liquid desiccant, with emphasis on operational performance, recovery, and stability in the presence of dust contamination.
Dust Tolerant Life Support: Designing Robust Air Revitalization Subsystems Beyond Filtration
University of North Texas
This effort presents a comprehensive design project “Dust-Tolerant Life Support: Are Filters Enough?” The project focuses on downstream particulate control within pressurized lunar and Martian habitats, explicitly treating dust intrusion as a credible and recurring operational condition rather than a rare failure. Its core premise is to manage fine and ultrafine regolith dust after it enters the habitat using portable, self-cleaning, low-consumable systems, rather than relying solely on upstream barriers or fixed HEPA filtration.
Author Credit: Mark Fischer | National Space Grant Foundation