Through the 2024 HuLC competition, NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) Program provides college students the opportunity to explore innovations and potential solutions to lunar Plume-Surface Interaction (PSI) risks and challenges.

NASA’s HLS Program is responsible for the transportation in deep space to carry humans to and from the surface of the Moon for NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program. Crews will board the HLS in lunar orbit and descend to the surface where they will collect samples, perform science experiments, and observe the lunar environment before returning to orbit in the HLS.

To land large payloads on the Moon, the HLS uses rocket engines for descent, landing, and ascent. High-velocity dust ejected by descent engine exhaust can cause damage to a lander, as well as nearby surface assets. When the plumes interact with the lunar regolith, surface erosion and cratering begin, and the interaction produces high-speed ejecta. The lofted regolith and high velocity ejecta can reduce visibility of sensors and optics, sandblast nearby landed assets, and erode the surface around the vehicle. These interactions between the plume(s), surface, erosion, and ejecta are termed Plume-Surface Interaction (PSI), and understanding and mitigating PSI effects are critical for safe landings and sustainable exploration on the Moon.

Teams are invited to submit proposals for innovative, systems-level solutions to understand, mitigate, and manage the impacts of lunar PSI that can be implemented within 3-5 years. The potential solutions teams can propose to could include, but are not limited to, the following categories:

• Trade Studies on Landing Trajectories that Minimize PSI
• Reduction / Mitigation of Erosion (Cratering) and Ejecta during Descent, Landing, and Ascent
• Development of PSI Flight Instrumentation / Measurement Methods and Concepts
• Tracking Dust During Descent, Landing, and Ascent
• Instrumentation Performance Through the Dust Cloud During Landing
• HLS Asset Safety (ejecta damage, excessive lander heating, etc.)
• PSI Modeling and Validation