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NASA, Partners test 3D printed rocket pad designed by students

by Molly Porter for MSFC News Huntsville AL (SPX) Mar 15, 2021 SPX
A team of students from colleges and universities across the United States - members of the Artemis Generation - tested a 3D printed launch and landing pad to see how it holds up to a hot rocket engine March 6 at Camp Swift in Bastrop, Texas.

The students' design concept - called the Lunar Plume Alleviation Device, or Lunar PAD - aims to solve problems caused by lunar dust kicked up during launches and landings.

The students first proposed the new design for a competitive proposal writing workshop led by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the L'SPACE Academy - the student collaboration project for NASA's Lucy mission at Arizona State University in Tempe.

The team won funding to print and test a small-scale prototype with help from NASA's Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project, Austin-based construction technologies startup ICON, and the Sounding Rocketry Team at Texas A and M University in College Station.

Artemis is NASA's robotic and human return to the Moon. Inspiring the next generation of explorers - the Artemis Generation - ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery. MMPACT is funded by NASA's Game Changing Development Program.

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