Overview

• NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center completed over 30 test firings of a 14-inch 3D-printed hybrid rocket motor, simulating lunar lander exhaust effects.
• The motor, developed at Utah State University, uses solid fuel and gaseous oxygen to replicate powerful lander engine plumes under lunar-like conditions.
• Tests measured crater formation and regolith ejection under vacuum conditions to better understand plume-surface interactions during lunar landings.
• The hybrid motor is now being transported to NASA's Langley Research Center for additional tests in a 60-foot vacuum sphere using simulated lunar soil.
• Data from these experiments will refine lander designs by SpaceX and Blue Origin, ensuring safer crewed landings for Artemis III and future missions.