NASA Announces Winners of 2026 University Innovation Competition

MIT’s Exploration-Class Lunar Integrated Power SystEm (ECLIPSE) won first place in the 2026 RASC-AL university aerospace innovation competition, with a second MIT team placing second for a Mars exploration infrastructure project and Virginia Tech earning third. Fourteen finalist teams presented mission architectures at a forum in Cocoa Beach, Florida, competing to demonstrate technical innovation in support of NASA’s Artemis exploration goals. The competition is part of NASA’s workforce development priorities and challenges students to advance aerospace technology concepts.