Space Center Houston’s
2026-2027 Mission: Lunar Dust Defense
Space Center Houston invites K–12 students to think like real-world innovators and tackle meaningful challenges connected to space exploration and STEM.
Through the Mission Innovation Challenge, students step into the role of engineers, scientists, and aerospace problem-solvers as they take on the 2026-2027 Mission: Lunar Dust Defense—researching real-world problems, imagining bold solutions, and communicating their ideas through a creative pitch.
This challenge empowers students to explore how innovative lunar dust solutions can support future Artemis missions, helping astronauts safely live, work, and conduct research on the Moon.
Future Artemis missions will depend on astronauts being able to safely live and work on the Moon. As crews explore the lunar South Pole, they will rely on spacesuits, rovers, habitats, science tools, power systems, and other equipment to complete their mission.
One major challenge is lunar dust. Lunar dust is very fine, abrasive, and clingy. It can collect on spacesuits, scratch surfaces, block seals, cover solar panels, interfere with tools, and follow astronauts back toward living spaces. A small dust problem can quickly become a mission problem.
Your mission is to design a conceptual solution that helps prevent, remove, capture, or manage lunar dust so astronauts can safely live and work on the Moon.
Student teams will research the lunar environment, identify a specific dust-related problem, imagine bold solutions, and communicate their ideas through a pitch deck, just like real engineers proposing ideas for future missions.
No prototype or physical testing is required. Teams should explain how they would test and improve their innovation if given the opportunity.
This is a conceptual design challenge.
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Download the Challenge Guide.
Upload your submission.
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