A team of mechanical engineering seniors from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is pushing the boundaries of their capstone project by entering NASA’s Human Lander Challenge Competition. This four-person team, led by co-captains Vaishnavi Adusumilli and Mohamed Eladawy, alongside Kyle Luis and Pierce Rubenstein, aims to contribute to space exploration technology with their innovative design.
The team’s project, named “Cryogenic Orbital Siphoning System” (CROSS), has advanced to the next stage of the competition, placing it among 12 projects nationwide from prestigious institutions such as MIT and CalTech. The event will take place in June in Huntsville, Alabama.
The challenge this year focuses on developing rocket fuel storage and transfer solutions for cryogenic fuels necessary for prolonged space missions. Currently, NASA can store these fuels in zero gravity for a few hours; however, longer durations are needed for future missions.
Luis expressed the initial challenges they faced: “We’ve put in almost a thousand hours each. I’ve never had my brain fried before.” Despite being undergraduates without postdoctoral or doctoral experience like some competitors, the team has managed to excel. Their advisor, Mohammed Alabsi, praised their comprehensive work: “It’s a totally different story for a group of undergrad students who have done everything from A to Z.”
Their CROSS system employs a positive expulsion mechanism that converts liquid rocket fuel into gas to drive a piston, pushing the fuel efficiently without extensive electrical components. Rubenstein highlighted the significance of their achievement: “It’s a dream for all of us to be recognized… It shows how much we’ve learned and how much we really understand what we’re doing.”
