Kona students presenting prototype of lunar habitat chair at NASA headquarters in Texas

Aerospace Design students from Makua Lani Christian Academy in Kailua-Kona will be traveling to Rocket Park in Houston to present their prototype at NASA headquarters.

Anja Marie Henriques, Mikaella Casino and Lynelle Yadao-Ellazar designed a lunar habitat chair for the NASA HUNCH engineering program.

Their chair is specially designed for use in a Moonbase.

The chair converts from a traditional chair to a kneeling chair so that it can be used for dining and working purposes.

In lunar gravity, astronauts’ posture and balance are compromised, but can be improved with the use of their prototype. The lunar habitat chair was tested on a lunar trolley that simulates lunar gravity.

The three girls invented the lunar trolley last year.

In the NASA HUNCH program, all finalists are winners and are invited to Houston to display their prototypes to NASA engineers, scientists and astronauts. NASA engineers may use their prototype in future lunar habitations as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

Last year, the same team was a finalist for the NASA HUNCH program with a prototype of a lunar habitat shoe. This prototype also was tested on the lunar trolley and allowed Henriques to walk in lunar gravity while wearing the shoes. 

Currently, the students are finalizing their design and creating a computer-aided design so that engineers can easily replicate their prototype.