NASA Artemis II Human Research Data Methodology Challenge

NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) uses research to develop methods to protect the health and performance of astronauts in space. To support NASA’s goals for long-term missions to the surface of the Moon and human exploration of Mars, HRP uses ground-based research facilities, the International Space Station, and analog environments to monitor human health in deep space.

NASA’s Artemis II mission was the first crewed mission near the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The mission carried four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a trajectory into deep space – further than any humans have ever gone – marking a crucial milestone in the history of human exploration. For the first time in more than half a century, human beings experienced all the physiological and psychological conditions of space travel beyond low Earth orbit, including a space radiation environment, the isolation and confinement of a new spacecraft, and the operational requirements of a test mission profile.

For HRP, Artemis II represents an irreplaceable research opportunity. Data collected from the four-person crew will expand an existing body of knowledge, built primarily from low-Earth orbit missions, by extending it to the deep space environment. It will provide direct measurements of how the human body responds to conditions that ground-based simulation cannot fully replicate.

This unique data set will also present a major analytical challenge. Although the sample size is only four subjects, the data will span multiple physiological systems, data modalities, and time points. It is this combination that NASA’s Artemis II human research data methodological challenge seeks to address.

Price: $25,000 in total prizes

Challenge opening date: March 30, 2026

Closing date for submissions: June 5, 2026

For more information, visit: https://hrpdatachallenge.org/