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By NASA
NASA named Stanford University of California winner of the Lunar Autonomy Challenge, a six-month competition for U.S. college and university student teams to virtually map and explore using a digital twin of NASA’s In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator (IPEx).
The winning team successfully demonstrated the design and functionality of their autonomous agent, or software that performs specified actions without human intervention. Their agent autonomously navigated the IPEx digital twin in the virtual lunar environment, while accurately mapping the surface, correctly identifying obstacles, and effectively managing available power.
Lunar simulation developed by the winning team of the Lunar Autonomy Challenge’s first place team from Stanford University.Credit: Stanford University’s NAV Lab team Lunar simulation developed by the winning team of the Lunar Autonomy Challenge’s first place team from Stanford University.Credit: Stanford University’s NAV Lab team Team photo of NAV Lab Lunar Autonomy Challenge from Stanford UniversityCredit: Stanford University’s NAV Lab team The Lunar Autonomy Challenge has been a truly unique experience. The challenge provided the opportunity to develop and test methods in a highly realistic simulation environment."
Adam dai
Lunar Autonomy Challenge team lead, Stanford University
Dai added, “It pushed us to find solutions robust to the harsh conditions of the lunar surface. I learned so much through the challenge, both about new ideas and methods, as well as through deepening my understanding of core methods across the autonomy stack (perception, localization, mapping, planning). I also very much enjoyed working together with my team to brainstorm different approaches and strategies and solve tangible problems observed in the simulation.”
The challenge offered 31 teams a valuable opportunity to gain experience in software development, autonomy, and machine learning using cutting-edge NASA lunar technology. Participants also applied essential skills common to nearly every engineering discipline, including technical writing, collaborative teamwork, and project management.
The Lunar Autonomy Challenge supports NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII), which is part of the Space Technology Mission Directorate. The LSII aims to accelerate technology development and pursue results that will provide essential infrastructure for lunar exploration by collaborating with industry, academia, and other government agencies.
The work displayed by all of these teams has been impressive, and the solutions they have developed are beneficial to advancing lunar and Mars surface technologies as we prepare for increasingly complex missions farther from home.”
Niki Werkheiser
Director of Technology Maturation and LSII lead, NASA Headquarters
“To succeed, we need input from everyone — every idea counts to propel our goals forward. It is very rewarding to see these students and software developers contributing their skills to future lunar and Mars missions,” Werkheiser added.
Through the Lunar Autonomy Challenge, NASA collaborated with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Caterpillar Inc., and Embodied AI. Each team contributed unique expertise and tools necessary to make the challenge a success.
The Applied Physics Laboratory managed the challenge for NASA. As a systems integrator for LSII, they provided expertise to streamline rigor and engineering discipline across efforts, ensuring the development of successful, efficient, and cost-effective missions — backed by the world’s largest cohort of lunar scientists.
Caterpillar Inc. is known for its construction and excavation equipment and operates a large fleet of autonomous haul trucks. They also have worked with NASA for more than 20 years on a variety of technologies, including autonomy, 3D printing, robotics, and simulators as they continue to collaborate with NASA on technologies that support NASA’s mission objectives and provide value to the mining and construction industries.
Embodied AI collaborated with Caterpillar to integrate the simulation into the open-source driving environment used for the challenge. For the Lunar Autonomy Challenge, the normally available digital assets of the CARLA simulation platform, such as urban layouts, buildings, and vehicles, were replaced by an IPEx “Digital Twin” and lunar environmental models.
“This collaboration is a great example of how the government, large companies, small businesses, and research institutions can thoughtfully leverage each other’s different, but complementary, strengths,” Werkheiser added. “By substantially modernizing existing tools, we can turn today’s novel technologies into tomorrow’s institutional capabilities for more efficient and effective space exploration, while also stimulating innovation and economic growth on Earth.”
FINALIST TEAMS
First Place
NAV Lab team
Stanford University, Stanford, California
Second Place
MAPLE (MIT Autonomous Pathfinding for Lunar Exploration) team
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Third Place
Moonlight team
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
OTHER COMPETING TEAMS
Lunar ExplorersArizona State UniversityTempe, ArizonaAIWVU West Virginia University Morgantown, West VirginiaStellar Sparks California Polytechnic Institute Pomona Pomona, California LunatiX Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of EngineeringBaltimore CARLA CSU California State University, Stanislaus Turlock, CaliforniaRose-Hulman Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IndianaLunar PathfindersAmerican Public University SystemCharles Town, West Virginia Lunar Autonomy Challenge digital simulation of lunar surface activity using a digital twin of NASA’s ISRU Pilot ExcavatorJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Space Technology Mission Directorate
NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative
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Game Changing Development projects aim to advance space technologies, focusing on advancing capabilities for going to and living in space.
ISRU Pilot Excavator
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By NASA
Credit: NASA Following an international signing ceremony Thursday, NASA congratulated Norway on becoming the latest country to join the Artemis Accords, committing to the peaceful, transparent, and responsible exploration of space.
“We’re grateful for the strong and meaningful collaboration we’ve already had with the Norwegian Space Agency,” said acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro. “Now, by signing the Artemis Accords, Norway is not only supporting the future of exploration, but also helping us define it with all our partners for the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
Norway’s Minster of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the country during an event at the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA) in Oslo. Christian Hauglie-Hanssen, director general of NOSA, and Robert Needham, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires for Norway, participated in the event. Petro contributed remarks in a pre-recorded video message.
“We are pleased to be a part of the Artemis Accords,” said Myrseth. “This is an important step for enabling Norway to contribute to broader international cooperation to ensure the peaceful exploration and use of outer space.”
In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations established the Artemis Accords, the first set of practical guidelines for nations to increase safety of operations and reduce risk and uncertainty in their civil exploration activities.
The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention and the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices for responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
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Amber Jacobson / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov
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Last Updated May 15, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Artemis Accords Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) View the full article
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This artist’s concept shows the Moon’s hot interior and volcanism about 2 to 3 billion years ago. It is thought that volcanic activity on the lunar near side (the side facing Earth) helped create a landscape dominated by vast plains called mare, which are formed by molten rock that cooled and solidified. NASA/JPL-Caltech Analyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface.
Although the Moon and the asteroid Vesta are very different, two NASA studies use the same technique to reveal new details about the interiors of both.
In the lunar study, published May 14 in the journal Nature, researchers developed a new gravity model of the Moon that includes tiny variations in the celestial body’s gravity during its elliptical orbit around Earth. These fluctuations cause the Moon to flex slightly due to Earth’s tidal force — a process called tidal deformation — which provides critical insights into the Moon’s deep internal structure.
Using their model, the researchers produced the most detailed lunar gravitational map yet, providing future missions an improved way to calculate location and time on the Moon. They accomplished this by analyzing data on the motion of NASA’s GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) mission, whose spacecraft, Ebb and Flow, orbited the Moon from Dec. 31, 2011, to Dec. 17, 2012.
These views of the Moon’s near side, left, and far side were put together from observations made by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA/JPL-Caltech In a second study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy on April 23, the researchers focused on Vesta, an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Using NASA’s Deep Space Network radiometric data and imaging data from the agency’s Dawn spacecraft, which orbited the asteroid from July 16, 2011, to Sept. 5, 2012, they found that instead of having distinct layers as expected, Vesta’s internal structure may be mostly uniform, with a very small iron core or no core at all.
“Gravity is a unique and fundamental property of a planetary body that can be used to explore its deep interior,” said Park. “Our technique doesn’t need data from the surface; we just need to track the motion of the spacecraft very precisely to get a global view of what’s inside.”
Lunar Asymmetry
The lunar study looked at gravitational changes to the Moon’s near and far sides. While the near side is dominated by vast plains — known as mare — formed by molten rock that cooled and solidified billions of years ago, the far side is more rugged, with few plains.
NASA’s Dawn mission obtained this image of the giant asteroid Vesta on July 24, 2011. The spacecraft spent 14 months orbiting the asteroid, capturing more than 30,000 images and fully mapping its surface. NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Both studies were led by Ryan Park, supervisor of the Solar System Dynamics Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and were years in the making due to their complexity. The team used NASA supercomputers to build a detailed map of how gravity varies across each body. From that, they could better understand what the Moon and Vesta are made of and how planetary bodies across the solar system formed.
Some theories suggest intense volcanism on the near side likely caused these differences. That process would have caused radioactive, heat-generating elements to accumulate deep inside the near side’s mantle, and the new study offers the strongest evidence yet that this is likely the case.
“We found that the Moon’s near side is flexing more than the far side, meaning there’s something fundamentally different about the internal structure of the Moon’s near side compared to its far side,” said Park. “When we first analyzed the data, we were so surprised by the result we didn’t believe it. So we ran the calculations many times to verify the findings. In all, this is a decade of work.”
When comparing their results with other models, Park’s team found a small but greater-than-expected difference in how much the two hemispheres deform. The most likely explanation is that the near side has a warm mantle region, indicating the presence of heat-generating radioactive elements, which is evidence for volcanic activity that shaped the Moon’s near side 2 billion to 3 billion years ago.
Vesta’s Evolution
Park’s team applied a similar approach for their study that focused on Vesta’s rotational properties to learn more about its interior.
“Our technique is sensitive to any changes in the gravitational field of a body in space, whether that gravitational field changes over time, like the tidal flexing of the Moon, or through space, like a wobbling asteroid,” said Park. “Vesta wobbles as it spins, so we could measure its moment of inertia, a characteristic that is highly sensitive to the internal structure of the asteroid.”
Changes in inertia can be seen when an ice skater spins with their arms held outward. As they pull their arms in, bringing more mass toward their center of gravity, their inertia decreases and their spin speeds up. By measuring Vesta’s inertia, scientists can gain a detailed understanding of the distribution of mass inside the asteroid: If its inertia is low, there would be a concentration of mass toward its center; if it’s high, the mass would be more evenly distributed.
Some theories suggest that over a long period, Vesta gradually formed onion-like layers and a dense core. But the new inertia measurement from Park’s team suggests instead that Vesta is far more homogeneous, with its mass distributed evenly throughout and only a small core of dense material, or no core.
Gravity slowly pulls the heaviest elements to a planet’s center over time, which is how Earth ended up with a dense core of liquid iron. While Vesta has long been considered a differentiated asteroid, a more homogenous structure would suggest that it may not have fully formed layers or may have formed from the debris of another planetary body after a massive impact.
In 2016, Park used the same data types as the Vesta study to focus on Dawn’s second target, the dwarf planet Ceres, and results suggested a partially differentiated interior.
Park and his team recently applied a similar technique to Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, using data acquired by NASA’s Juno and Galileo spacecraft during their flybys of the Jovian satellite as well as from ground-based observations. By measuring how Io’s gravity changes as it orbits Jupiter, which exerts a powerful tidal force, they revealed that the fiery moon is unlikely to possess a global magma ocean.
“Our technique isn’t restricted just to Io, Ceres, Vesta, or the Moon,” said Park. “There are many opportunities in the future to apply our technique for studying the interiors of intriguing planetary bodies throughout the solar system.”
News Media Contacts
Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Last Updated May 14, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid hydrogen tank for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket into the factory’s final assembly area on April 22, 2025. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. NASA/Steven Seipel NASA completed another step to ready its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis III mission as crews at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans recently applied a thermal protection system to the core stage’s liquid hydrogen tank.
Building on the crewed Artemis II flight test, Artemis III will add new capabilities with the human landing system and advanced spacesuits to send the first astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole region and prepare humanity to go to Mars. Thermal protection systems are a cornerstone of successful spaceflight endeavors, safeguarding human life, and enabling the launch and controlled return of spacecraft.
The tank is the largest piece of SLS flight hardware insulated at Michoud. The hardware requires thermal protection due to the extreme temperatures during launch and ascent to space – and to keep the liquid hydrogen at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit on the pad prior to launch.
“The thermal protection system protects the SLS rocket from the heat of launch while also keeping the thousands of gallons of liquid propellant within the core stage’s tanks cold enough. Without the protection, the propellant would boil off too rapidly to replenish before launch,” said Jay Bourgeois, thermal protection system, test, and integration lead at NASA Michoud. “Thermal protection systems are crucial in protecting all the structural components of SLS during launch and flight.”
In February, Michoud crews with NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage prime contractor, completed the thermal protection system on the external structure of the rocket’s liquid hydrogen propellant fuel tank, using a robotic tool in what is now the largest single application in spaceflight history. The robotically controlled operation coated the tank with spray-on foam insulation, distributing 107 feet of the foam to the tank in 102 minutes. When the foam is applied to the core stage, it gives the rocket a canary yellow color. The Sun’s ultraviolet rays naturally “tan” the thermal protection, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color, like the space shuttle external tank.
Having recently completed application of the thermal protection system, teams will now continue outfitting the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank with critical systems to ready it for its designated Artemis III mission. The core stage of SLS is the largest ever built by length and volume, and was manufactured at Michoud using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. (NASA/Steven Seipel) While it might sound like a task similar to applying paint to a house or spraying insulation in an attic, it is a much more complex process. The flexible polyurethane foam had to withstand harsh conditions for application and testing. Additionally, there was a new challenge: spraying the stage horizontally, something never done previously during large foam applications on space shuttle external tanks at Michoud. All large components of space shuttle tanks were in a vertical position when sprayed with automated processes.
Overall, the rocket’s core stage is 212 feet with a diameter of 27.6 feet, the same diameter as the space shuttle’s external tank. The liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks feed four RS-25 engines for approximately 500 seconds before SLS reaches low Earth orbit and the core stage separates from the upper stage and NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
“Even though it only takes 102 minutes to apply the spray, a lot of careful preparation and planning is put into this process before the actual application of the foam,” said Boeing’s Brian Jeansonne, the integrated product team senior leader for the thermal protection system at NASA Michoud. “There are better process controls in place than we’ve ever had before, and there are specialized production technicians who must have certifications to operate the system. It’s quite an accomplishment and a lot of pride in knowing that we’ve completed this step of the build process.”
The core stage of SLS is the largest NASA has ever built by length and volume, and it was manufactured at Michoud using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. Michoud is a unique, advanced manufacturing facility where the agency has built spacecraft components for decades, including the space shuttle’s external tanks and Saturn V rockets for the Apollo program.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
For more information on the Artemis Campaign, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis/
News Media Contact
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
ICON’s next generation Vulcan construction system 3D printing a simulated Mars habitat for NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) missions.ICON One of the keys to a sustainable human presence on distant worlds is using local, or in-situ, resources which includes building materials for infrastructure such as habitats, radiation shielding, roads, and rocket launch and landing pads. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is leveraging its portfolio of programs and industry opportunities to develop in-situ, resource capabilities to help future Moon and Mars explorers build what they need. These technologies have made exciting progress for space applications as well as some impacts right here on Earth.
The Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) project, funded by NASA’s Game Changing Development program and managed at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is exploring applications of large-scale, robotic 3D printing technology for construction on other planets. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but demonstrations using simulated lunar and Martian surface material, known as regolith, show the concept could become reality.
Lunar 3D printing prototype.Contour Crafting With its partners in industry and academic institutions, MMPACT is developing processing technologies for lunar and Martian construction materials. The binders for these materials, including water, could be extracted from the local regolith to reduce launch mass. The regolith itself is used as the aggregate, or granular material, for these concretes. NASA has evaluated these materials for decades, initially working with large-scale 3D printing pioneer, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of civil, environmental and astronautical engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Khoshnevis developed techniques for large-scale extraterrestrial 3D printing under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. One of these processes is Contour Crafting, in which molten regolith and a binding agent are extruded from a nozzle to create infrastructure layer by layer. The process can be used to autonomously build monolithic structures like radiation shielding and rocket landing pads.
Continuing to work with the NIAC program, Khoshnevis also developed a 3D printing method called selective separation sintering, in which heat and pressure are applied to layers of powder to produce metallic, ceramic, or composite objects which could produce small-scale, more-precise hardware. This energy-efficient technique can be used on planetary surfaces as well as in microgravity environments like space stations to produce items including interlocking tiles and replacement parts.
While NASA’s efforts are ultimately aimed at developing technologies capable of building a sustainable human presence on other worlds, Khoshnevis is also setting his sights closer to home. He has created a company called Contour Crafting Corporation that will use 3D printing techniques advanced with NIAC funding to fabricate housing and other infrastructure here on Earth.
Another one of NASA’s partners in additive manufacturing, ICON of Austin, Texas, is doing the same, using 3D printing techniques for home construction on Earth, with robotics, software, and advanced material.
Construction is complete on a 3D-printed, 1,700-square-foot habitat that will simulate the challenges of a mission to Mars at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The habitat will be home to four intrepid crew members for a one-year Crew Health and Performance Analog, or CHAPEA, mission. The first of three missions begins in the summer of 2023. The ICON company was among the participants in NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, which aimed to advance the technology needed to build housing in extraterrestrial environments. In 2021, ICON used its large-scale 3D printing system to build a 1,700 square-foot simulated Martian habitat that includes crew quarters, workstations and common lounge and food preparation areas. This habitat prototype, called Mars Dune Alpha, is part of NASA’s ongoing Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, a series of Mars surface mission simulations scheduled through 2026 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
With support from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, ICON is also developing an Olympus construction system, which is designed to use local resources on the Moon and Mars as building materials.
The ICON company uses a robotic 3D printing technique called Laser Vitreous Multi-material Transformation, in which high-powered lasers melt local surface materials, or regolith, that then solidify to form strong, ceramic-like structures. Regolith can similarly be transformed to create infrastructure capable of withstanding environmental hazards like corrosive lunar dust, as well as radiation and temperature extremes.
The company is also characterizing the gravity-dependent properties of simulated lunar regolith in an experiment called Duneflow, which flew aboard a Blue Origin reusable suborbital rocket system through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program in February 2025. During that flight test, the vehicle simulated lunar gravity for approximately two minutes, enabling ICON and researchers from NASA to compare the behavior of simulant against real regolith obtained from the Moon during an Apollo mission.
Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/space-technology-mission-directorate/
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