Georgia Southern mechanical engineering students partner with NASA to develop tech for deep-space missions
Eagle Nation is working with NASA to soar to the moon and beyond!
Students at Georgia Southern University’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing have been tapped by the space agency to develop new technology for use in future space missions thanks to a grant secured by Allen E. Paulson Distinguished Chair Valentin Soloiu, Ph.D.
Georgia Southern is one of 12 universities selected to participate in NASA’s Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) 2026 Academic Innovation Challenge. The competition brings senior and graduate college students to the factory floor to design equipment supporting space habitats and exploration missions.
“I worked over seven years to secure this grant,” said Soloiu. “I’m proud of my students for participating in developing this technology for NASA. It shows how invested Georgia Southern University is when it comes to our research efforts.”
Soloiu’s undergraduate mechanical engineering students are developing a rover and an autonomous charging station for surface vehicles using LiDAR a light detection and ranging, technology that uses laser light to measure distance. The data will guide vehicles to their charging stations, where a robotic arm developed by Soloiu’s team will connect them.
Graduate student project leads Tim Sutton and Shaen Mehrzed are working with Soloiu to guide development and implementation of the technology.
“Right now, we’re focusing on bringing an inductive charging system into the mix,” explained Sutton. “It would function exactly like a wireless phone charger.”
“That would help us develop a charging system that could function regardless of the environmental conditions,” says Mehrzed. “We’re trying to simulate that environment and make sure our technology is capable of operating in it.”
The goal is to have the product ready to blast off by May 2026. But these students are sending more than their inventions to the stars.
“These are dreams and goals my students have had their entire life,” said Soloiu. “Georgia Southern University is helping us make those dreams a reality.”
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