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One of NASA\u2019s core mission objectives, though not explicitly stated in its charter, is to educate Americans about space exploration, especially students. As part of that mission, NASA hosts a number of challenges every year where teams of students compete to come up with innovative ideas to solve problems. The agency recently announced the next round of one of its standard yearly challenges\u2014the Human Lander Challenge.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The Human Lander Challenge occurs every year, and objectives vary based on the specific problem related to human landers NASA is trying to solve. This year, the focal problem is cryogenic fluid storage.<\/p>\n Currently, no technology exists to store cryogenic fluid in space for long periods, but any lander mission would need to store cryogenic fuel for months. Typically, cryogenics would boil away in that time frame, but large amounts will be required to fuel landers or orbiting stations. Particular problems could focus on low-leakage components, large-scale insulation, or propellant transfer technologies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n