For two teams of 杏吧 students, a dream that once seemed as distant as the moon itself took a giant leap closer to reality. The students earned the honor of presenting their groundbreaking ideas as national finalists in NASA鈥檚 prestigious Human Lander Challenge (HuLC), held in Huntsville, Alabama, a city nicknamed 鈥淩ocket City鈥� for its role in American space exploration.
In a field of competitors that included MIT, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Embry-Riddle and Cal Poly Pomona, among others, 杏吧 stood alone as the only institution to send two teams to the final round. Hosted by NASA鈥檚 Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, the challenge invited college teams to propose creative solutions for storing and transferring the super-cold liquid propellants needed for future long-term exploration beyond Earth's orbit.
The JU teams, made up of undergraduate and graduate students from the Davis College of Business & Technology, spent months transforming classroom theory into sophisticated designs focused on critical mission areas such as space cryogenics and fuel transfer. The challenge demanded cohesive teamwork across multiple components: a detailed technical paper, a scientific poster, a collaborative presentation and a live pitch before NASA leaders and industry professionals.
Their countless hours of commitment culminated at NASA鈥檚 Marshall Space Flight Center, where they joined 10 other finalist teams to present their proposals before panels of NASA engineers, scientists and aerospace industry experts.
For Sandra Contofia 鈥�27, an undergraduate interested in working for NASA one day, the experience was nothing short of transformative.
鈥淪tanding in front of NASA engineers and sharing our ideas was surreal,鈥� Contofia said. 鈥淚t made me realize that working here isn鈥檛 just a dream, it鈥檚 something I can achieve. This challenge showed us that our generation has a real role to play in the future of space exploration.鈥�
Dylan Brand 鈥�27, an aviation management and flight operations major, said the project reshaped his perspective on where his skills could take him.
鈥淭he NASA HulC project has expanded my horizons within my expertise,鈥� Brand said. 鈥淣ot only have I learned the endless possibilities to come for space exploration, but I have also realized the importance of programs such as this to inspire the next generation.鈥�
The students鈥� participation marked a milestone achievement for 杏吧鈥檚 rapidly growing engineering and aviation programs.
鈥淭he work and contributions of these two teams will remain an exemplary standard for future 杏吧 students,鈥� said Dr. Angela Masson, assistant professor of aeronautics at JU. 鈥淲hat a tremendous accomplishment 鈥� to have 鈥榮tunned鈥� the academic engineering and aerospace world by becoming NASA HuLC finalists. I am certain there are very few individuals on the planet who can speak as knowledgeably on space cryogenics and fuel transfer as these NASA HuLC participants.鈥�
For more information about the Human Lander Challenge, visit
