Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Teams who submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) by Thursday, October 15, 2026, will receive an invitation to the virtual Q&A Session with the HuLC NASA SMEs. NOIs do not need to be comprehensive, are non-binding, and intended concepts may change prior to proposal submission.
Eligibility Questions
HuLC is open to teams of full-time or part-time college students at an accredited U.S.-based community college, college, or university. Eligibility varies based on participant status and institution type.
For complete eligibility information, including guidance international students attending U.S. universities, and Pathways Interns or other government employees, refer to the HuLC Participation Agreement on the Challenge Details Webpage.
No. See the Participation Agreement for full eligibility requirements.
No. Only one advisor is required, from the lead university. If selected as a finalist, the joint team will receive a single award issued to the lead institution, which will determine any distribution among partner universities.
Yes. It is required to acknowledge every person who contributed to your project in the technical paper.
There is no limit to the number of students who can participate throughout the year on a team.
However, there is a limit for Forum attendees per team. See the Forum Attendance section under Eligibility within the Challenge Guidelines, located on the Challenge Details Webpage.
No, students must be 18 years of age or older at time of proposal submission to participate.
Advisor Questions
- Serving as a mentor and primary POC for the team
- Receiving challenge updates and communications alongside the student team leader
- Ensuring required submissions are completed by established deadlines
- Signing the required attestations and agreeing to the HuLC Participation Agreement
- Accepting and managing award funds in accordance with university policies
- Coordinating required university paperwork, Forum registration, and travel arrangements for team participation in the HuLC Forum
Yes, however, each team will require a “primary” faculty advisor who will serve as the team’s main point-of-contact alongside the student team lead.
Yes, collaboration with industry partners is permitted and encouraged. However, each team must also have a primary faculty advisor from the lead university at the time of proposal submission. External advisors and mentors may supplement, but not replace, the primary faculty advisor. Additional advisors may attend the Forum, but priority should be given to student team members and the primary faculty advisor.
Guidelines and Deliverables Questions
The W9/Vendor Form must be filled out by the lead college/university. Typically, it is done through the college/university finance department. Your advisor should be able to help you navigate conversations with your college/university to ensure the W9 is filled correctly, by the appropriate personnel. Students and Students Clubs cannot fill out the W9 or vendor form.
A completed IRS Form W9 is an acceptable substitution.
Only if you have obtained the proper, legal permissions to do so. It is the responsibility of each team to appropriately handle copyright issues related to anything you choose to use (including, but not limited to: music, images, graphics, and photos). Neither NASA nor NIA can grant permission for you to use copyrighted material.
Yes. Visit the Challenge Details Webpage to view this year’s HuLC Guidelines for specific guidance on the use of LLM and/or gen AI imagery.
You should treat code like you would an equation. For example: If the code/equation is integral to understanding your concept, then it (or a snippet) should be included in the body of your paper.
If the code/equation is not integral to understanding your concept, you may instead only include outputs in the body of your paper.
The cost and schedule should describe the proposed concept’s development and implementation, not the team’s activities to develop their concept for HuLC. Include the anticipated costs, major milestones, and timeline needed to mature and execute the concept. The information presented in the Quad Chart should align with the discussion in the body of the proposal.
Videos should be used to help judges better understand the team’s proposed concept. Whether the video focuses on technical details, innovation, visualizations, simulations, or other aspects of the project is entirely up to the team.
Forum Questions
Due to space limitations, the HuLC Forum is closed to the public, which includes friends, family, unregistered team members or advisors, and uninvited media representatives.
HuLC Forum presentations will be livestreamed, and friends and family are encouraged to watch the teams’ presentations virtually.
Finalist teams are expected to present their project first at the HuLC Forum. Teams should wait until after the Forum before presenting or publishing their work at external conferences or in other technical venues. However, sharing project work within the university environment prior to the Forum is both permissible and encouraged.
If the work is later presented or published elsewhere, teams should acknowledge that it was originally developed for NASA’s Human Lander Challenge.