NASA awards Arcada student Mahesh Viyannalage for lunar rescue system design

In late March, Arcada’s Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering student Mahesh Viyannalage placed second in the NASA Lunar Rescue System Challenge with his design, MoonWheel.

NASA is currently focusing on sending humans back to the Moon, and two crew members will descend to the surface in 2027, as part of the Artemis III mission.

Engineering for demanding conditions

To support the preparations for the Artemis III mission, the NASA challenge aimed to develop a compact, lightweight, and efficient system for rescuing astronauts on the lunar surface, enabling evacuation under extreme conditions.

‘The main hurdle was keeping the whole innovation below the weight limit of 23 kilograms.’

The innovation also had to function on uneven, sometimes steep terrain, while enduring extreme temperature shifts. Balancing the system is also difficult due to low gravity.

To meet these demands, Mahesh’s MoonWheel uses collapsible wheels, enabling it to take up significantly less space – something crucial on a space mission.

The concept stemmed from his thesis research, where he explored collapsing wheel mechanisms – an idea that unexpectedly became key when he later submitted a proposal to the NASA competition.

‘I’m really happy and proud, especially as I’m at the beginning of my engineering career. It’s an incredible feeling knowing that an idea I imagined might one day contribute to a real mission on the Moon in 2027. Just thinking of that possibility makes me extremely proud and motivates me even more for the future.’

From theoretical to practical education

Mahesh has a background in physics and nanotechnology, but also wanted a more practical degree, hence applying to Arcada University of Applied Sciences in 2023.

When asked about the reason behind his choice of studies was, Mahesh said ‘I realised that I wanted to shift my career into something hands-on and more design-oriented. That’s why I decided to go for a degree in Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering.

I’m truly grateful to the academic staff at Arcada. Thanks to their guidance, I gained some practical experience and learnt many important concepts for design and simulation.

He is now in the final stages of his studies.

‘I’m truly grateful to the academic staff at Arcada. Thanks to their guidance, I gained some practical experience and learnt many important concepts for design and simulation. Without their support I don’t think I could have completed this device the way I did.’

Mahesh encourages other students to take on challenges.

‘There is no such thing as big or small problems, it all depends on how you look at it.’

Interested in Moon missions, but staying on Earth

Mahesh has always found space fascinating and initially thought of studying astrophysics as his first degree.

‘I was always curious about missions happening in space and I regularly check the NASA website to keep up with current and future Moon missions.’

The dream is that someone is using something I created – but in this case, I hope they won’t get a chance to use this on the Moon.

Although he prefers to be the one designing – not the one travelling to space.

‘The dream is that someone is using something I created – but in this case, I hope they won’t get a chance to use this on the Moon’, says Mahesh and is referring to the unfortunate circumstance someone would be in if they needed to rescue another crew member.

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