Tri-County Team Named NASA HUNCH Finalists

A team of five junior Engineering students from Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School has returned from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston with high honors after being named national finalists in the NASA HUNCH Design and Prototyping program.

The team, comprised of (from left) Nathanael Hatami (Plainville), Aidan Forrester (Plainville), Lucas Bianco (Medway), Sabrina Gaul (Franklin), and Maddie Gouck (North Attleboro), spent their junior year developing "HexaFlow," a modular capillary-action Nanolab designed to improve crop production in microgravity.

The HexaFlow project addresses a critical challenge in space exploration: providing consistent hydration to plants without causing root rot, a common issue in zero-gravity environments where water behaves unpredictably. The students’ solution uses a sophisticated combination of AI computer vision and biomimicry. Inspired by the skin of the Thorny Devil lizard, the team engineered hexagonal channels that use capillary action to transport water directly to plant roots. An integrated AI model monitors the roots in real-time, triggering the watering system only when necessary to ensure optimal growth.

During the NASA HUNCH Finalist Showcase in Houston, the Tri-County team presented their prototype to NASA engineers, researchers, and astronauts - including Don Pettit, inventor of the space cup; they also presented to Space Center Houston visitors. The "HexaFlow" Nanolab received "wonderfully positive feedback" for its innovative use of biological inspiration, clever control system, and well-documented testing. The team was also lauded for their knowledge and presentation.

As a result of their performance at the showcase, the team will have their Nanolab drop-tested at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. This testing will allow the students to see how their capillary geometry performs during microgravity, providing data that could influence future NASA food production systems for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

"We are incredibly proud of these students for their poise, dedication, and technical expertise," said Engineering Instructor Kristen Magas. "To see our students interacting as peers with NASA engineers and astronauts is a testament to their creativity, hard work, and the incredibly supportive Tri-County community. HexaFlow isn't just a school project; it’s a viable solution to a real-world problem in human space flight."

The NASA HUNCH (High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware) program is a nationwide instructional partnership that challenges students to design and manufacture hardware and software for the International Space Station (ISS), Artemis, and beyond.