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NASA Opens 2027 Human Lander Challenge for Lunar Communications

Page: NASA article by Bailey Light, 29 September 2026, last updated 1 October 2026. https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/esdmd/artemis-campaign-development-division/human-landing-system-program/nasa-opens-2027-human-lander-challenge-for-lunar-communications/. Fetched 2026-10-02T04:02:26Z. File: sources/moon-base/nasa-gov-directorates-esdmd-artemis-campaign-development-division-human-landing-system-pro.md.

Summary. A university challenge run for the Human Landing System Program Office: U.S. student teams propose "systems-level solutions to better understand, establish, and optimize lunar communications for landers and surface operations that can be implemented within three to five years". It is a student competition, not a procurement; its bearing on the architecture is the subject it names.

Key points

  • Why: "As NASA prepares for long-term human presence on the Moon through the Artemis and Moon Base programs, communications systems will be just as important as spacecraft and rockets. A resilient communications system will connect astronauts, rovers, habitats, landers, mission support teams on Earth, and more."
  • Quoted: Jeremy Del Greco, "Human Landing System program communications integration lead" at Marshall: "we will need dependable connections across the lunar surface and beyond".
  • Three categories: Hardware ("Space-rated wireless networks and electronics"; "Antenna signal propagation, modeling, and environmental mitigation"); Software ("Data efficiency and link optimization"; "Network management and scheduling"); Architecture ("Surface communications system architecture"; "Orbital communications system architecture").
  • Dates and prizes: notice of intent by 15 October [2026]; proposals due 4 March 2027; up to 12 finalists receive $9,000 each; final design review in Huntsville, 21–24 June 2027; the top three share $18,000.
  • Who runs it: "administered by the National Institute of Aerospace", "sponsored by the agency's Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate's Human Landing System Program Office". The page's address still carries esdmd.

Human Landing System · #0103 Surface-to-Surface Communications · SCaN Networks · 5G contract