Students at Georgia Southern University’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing are collaborating with NASA to develop technology for future space missions. The partnership comes as part of the Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) 2026 Academic Innovation Challenge, which includes 12 universities across the United States.
The team at Georgia Southern is led by Allen E. Paulson Distinguished Chair Valentin Soloiu, Ph.D., who secured the grant for this initiative. Soloiu expressed his satisfaction with the project, stating, “I worked over seven years to secure this grant. 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.”
Undergraduate mechanical engineering students are working on a rover and an autonomous charging station designed for surface vehicles using LiDAR technology. This light detection and ranging system employs laser light to measure distance, helping guide vehicles to their charging stations. At these stations, a robotic arm developed by Soloiu’s team will connect the vehicles.
Graduate student project leads Tim Sutton and Shaen Mehrzed are also involved in guiding the development and implementation of these technologies. Sutton said, “Right now, we’re focusing on bringing an inductive charging system into the mix. It would function exactly like a wireless phone charger.” Mehrzed added, “That would help us develop a charging system that could function regardless of the environmental conditions. We’re trying to simulate that environment and make sure our technology is capable of operating in it.”
The team aims to have their product ready by May 2026.
“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.”
