Students to develop interface system for lunar rover

Kathy Floyd
12 February 2025

Student Life General Science and Technology

MSU Texas team chosen to compete in NASA challenge

Kathy Floyd
12 February 2025
2 min read

A team of students from Midwestern State University was one of 10 university groups chosen to compete in an elite competition hosted by NASA. The Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (NASA SUITS) is a design challenge in which college students nationwide help design user interface solutions for future spaceflight needs.

The MSU Texas team, Team Selene, submitted a project proposal to NASA to develop and test an interface for a space suit and an interface for the lunar rover.

The announcement was made by NASA with a video. Students held a watch party and were excited to hear Team Selene announced along with teams from Columbia, Purdue, Indiana State, Brown, and Rice universities, the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas Austin.

Team Selene members include Zachary Barrentine, Rykir Evans, Zachary Lewis, Kerry Manolagas, Ryan Mathews, Mierhamza Sly Rahimi, Adrian Robledo, and Jack Tsui. Robledo is the team leader. Kyle Garcia, Jarett Green, Victoria Heredia, Carlos Polanco, and Ethan Saenz are alternates.

“It’s truly surreal and an incredible honor to have been selected among so many universities,” Robledo said. “Knowing that we’re going up against such big schools is both exciting and intimidating, but it also fuels our determination. I feel proud to represent our institution on this stage, and I can’t wait to rise to the challenge.”

The MSU Texas team is paired with Team Space from the University of California, Irvine. Faculty adviser Tina Johnson, professor of Computer Science,

said that UC Irvine will work on the spacesuit display, and Team Selene will work on the rover interface. “The students will work on the project throughout the spring semester and then travel to Johnson Space Center in Houston May 18-22 for testing.” Testing for the lunar mission will be at night at the Johnson Space Center rock yard to simulate the low lighting levels at the lunar south pole.

The team received an intramural grant through the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research at MSU Texas to fund equipment purchases and the travel to NASA in May.

“The Department of Computer Science is proud to be represented by Team Selene in the NASA SUITS challenge,” Johnson said. “Given the importance of the project, it should be something to celebrate as these types of accomplishments set MSU Texas apart from other small colleges. This remarkable achievement highlights not only the talent and hard work of our students but also the strength of our university’s STEM programs. Despite being a smaller institution, our team’s success in this competitive challenge emphasizes that size does not define impact — passion and dedication do.”

NASA’s Artemis missions seek to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon and build a sustained human presence on the moon. And ultimately, Mars. This is the eighth year of the SUITS program.

Links:

Announcement video

NASA SUITS information