Two Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student teams have advanced to the finals of NASA's 2026 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC), earning national recognition for technologies designed to help sustain astronauts during future deep-space missions.

From both of Embry-Riddle’s residential campuses, the teams will present their projects this week to a panel of NASA engineers and industry experts at a final forum in Huntsville, Alabama. The Prescott Campus team advanced with a proposal for an oxygen-recovery system for long-duration spaceflight, while the Daytona Beach Campus team was selected for a concept focused on water recovery and management.

Administered by the National Institute of Aerospace on behalf of NASA, the Human Lander Challenge invites university students to develop innovative solutions to engineering challenges associated with future human exploration missions. The 2026 competition focuses on Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), the technologies that sustain astronauts during missions to destinations such as the moon and Mars.

Generating Oxygen for Space Exploration

For the third consecutive year, students with the Professional Association of Research and Space Engineering Concepts (PARSEC) organization at the Prescott Campus have earned a place among the challenge’s finalists. Grant Bowers, PARSEC program manager and a Software Engineering senior, said the organization is the only team to have qualified as a finalist in every forum to date. The team earned first place in 2025 and was recognized for systems engineering in 2024.

This year, the team’s project addresses a key challenge for future deep-space exploration: generating oxygen efficiently while reducing dependence on costly resupply missions from Earth.

"When we eventually venture out to the moon, Mars and beyond, the cost of resupply becomes more expensive and dangerous," said Sanaya Nichani, PARSEC deputy program manager and an Aerospace Engineering senior. "To keep astronauts aboard these eventual missions safe, closing the loop is required as a means of having a fully sustainable environment so they can stay off-world for longer periods of time."

The team proposed a project titled Atmospheric Electrochemical Transformation for Habitat and Environmental Regeneration (AETHER), a sustainable oxygen-generation system that converts carbon dioxide into usable oxygen.

"Systems like AETHER are what humans will need to design and implement into the environmental control and life support system architecture NASA is currently building in order to have successful space missions,” Bowers said.

Dr. Siwei Fan, an assistant professor of Aerospace Engineering and the project's faculty advisor, said the concept could help reduce reliance on conventional oxygen-generation methods by directly recovering oxygen from carbon dioxide.

"The broader significance of AETHER lies not only in oxygen generation, but in how we design life-support systems for human space exploration, from spacecraft and space stations to lunar and Martian habitats," he said.  

Students pose in front of the flight statue at the Daytona Beach Campus.

Managing Drinking Water on the Moon

Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach Campus also earned finalist recognition with its Advanced Quality Orbital Rehydration Assembly (AQUORA), a concept focused on water management during future lunar missions.

Developed by students in the university's Advanced Space Technologies Research Applications (ASTRA) Lab, the system seeks to improve how astronauts access and manage drinking water during long-duration missions on the moon. The team built on technology already proven aboard the International Space Station, exploring ways to expand its capabilities through a chilled-water system and new approaches to reduce microbial growth over time.

According to project team lead Sumer Hernandez, the goal is to create a system that is more sustainable, reliable and comfortable for crews living on the lunar surface for extended periods.

"By building on existing NASA technology rather than creating an entirely new system, AQUORA aims to provide astronauts with greater flexibility while minimizing risk," Hernandez said.

Dr. Erik Seedhouse, associate professor in the Applied Aviation Sciences Department and faculty advisor for the project, said that students who participate in NASA’s Human Lander Challenge gain valuable real-world engineering experience.

"Student participation in this competition is significant because it provides hands-on experience in engineering design, problem-solving, teamwork and collaboration within a highly competitive and professional environment," Seedhouse said.

A livestream of the 12 teams presenting their projects at NASA's 2026 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) final forum will begin at 9:50 a.m. CT Tuesday, June 23. View the livestream.