A group of students hot-fired a rocket engine in a 3D-printed launch and landing pad at Camp Swift in Texas to determine how it can handle launches. The structure, dubbed as Lunar Plume Alleviation Device, is designed to address issues brought by lunar dusts during launch and landing activities, NASA said Saturday.
NASA funded the Lunar PAD project through a competitive proposal writing workshop managed by the agency's Office of the Chief Technologist.
Texas A&M University, startup company ICON and NASA supported the construction of a small-scale prototype for the launch pad. The project is a part of NASA's Artemis Generation effort, a program that seeks to field humans and robots to the Moon's surface.