An interdisciplinary team of Grainger College of Engineering undergraduate students has been selected as a finalist in NASA’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC). The students created the concept design “Efficient Cryogenic Low Invasive Propellant Supply Exchange” (ECLIPSE) in response to this year’s theme—to develop innovative, systems-level solutions to understand, mitigate potential problems, and mature advanced cryogenic fluid technologies that can be implemented within three to five years.

Cryogenic fluids, like liquid hydrogen or liquid oxygen, must stay extremely cold to remain in a liquid state. The ability to effectively store and transfer these fluids in space (i.e., from a depot to a spacecraft) is becoming increasingly vital for the future of long-duration missions.

“We developed a minimally invasive cryogenic propellant transfer solution designed for implementation onboard the human lander system,” said the team’s project manager and physics major Cliff Sun. “Our solution addresses the lack of two-phase flow imaging along the transfer pipe while also minimizing and controlling boil-off during the initial transfer line and tank chill-down process. In doing so, ECLIPSE advances cryogenic fluid management technologies in support of long-duration Artemis missions and sustained deep space exploration.”

The team is comprised of propellant transfer (Charles Cundiff, lead), instrumentation (Braedyn Kim, lead), and software (Aneesh Ganti and Divij Garg, leads) subteams. Other team members include Robert Barthell, Thach Dang, Jett Haas, Keaton Jones, Justin Kotrba, Anna Lambros, Michael Milowski, Sebastian Moreno, Zahi Rahman, Sebastian Rojas, Anna Rudenko, and Nate Vattana. All are members of the Illinois Space Society.

“Our team is very unique in the sense that we have students from diverse majors, primarily from aerospace engineering, physics, astrophysics, mathematics, and computer science,” said faculty advisor Vishwanath Ganesan, a postdoctoral researcher in mechanical science and engineering professor Nenad Miljkovic’s lab. “This enables each student to bring their own perspectives and strengths on various aspects of the design and development of innovative and holistic solutions to advanced engineering problems.”

“In-space cryogenic propellant transfer systems are necessary for refueling spacecraft in orbit to achieve NASA’s long-duration manned and/or unmanned deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” Ganesan said. “However, propellant boil-off during storage and transfer can use up the available liquid propellant causing significant losses in useable propellant. In the Energy Transport Research Laboratory (ETRL), we are conducting line chill-down experiments and employing high-fidelity optical and thermal diagnostics to understand the influence of transfer line design and operation on the thermal-hydraulic response to minimize cryogenic propellant losses.”

Ganesan’s own interest in cryogenics began during his PhD program at Purdue University, for which he developed predictive tools and thermal/fluid design codes for enabling safe operation and design of future in-space cryogenic propellant transfer systems and other infrastructure.

“Cryogenic liquids, owing to their ultra-low boiling point and distinct thermophysical properties from other fluid classes, exhibit unique and fascinating boiling heat transfer physics,” he said. “The physics get further challenging and interesting at different gravity levels and under different heating configurations, something we are investigating now [in the ETRL].”

As the team prepares to present during the HuLC Competition Forum this June in Huntsville, Alabama, they will be conducting critical design reviews with industry professionals to rigorously test the strength of their final design. “The team is working hard to finalize our solution architecture, and as a project manager, it’s amazing to see our initial concept take shape and grow stronger each passing week,” Sun said.

Ganesan has valued his role as advisor and looks forward to continuing his relationship with these hardworking students. “Based on the students’ needs and requirements for their independent study or student team projects, they are always welcome and encouraged to contact me for any advising,” he said.

“Regardless of what happens next, I’ll always be proud of what our team has accomplished in tackling Artemis’ arguably most difficult problem,” Sun said. “The HuLC team is made up of some of the most brilliant problem solvers I’ve ever met.”

ECLIPSE rendering at top by Robert Barthell.