MASST Receives EarthCup Award

The Midwest Alliance for Solar Sail Technology (MASST), a collaboration among faculty, students, and researchers at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Missouri University of Science and Technology; and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, earned a first-place medal for the design they submitted towards EarthCup’s Mission 1, Race 1. MASST was one of only three teams recognized with an award at the Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah this August.

EarthCup is a series of space races designed to advance solar sail technology for deep-space exploration, solar energy collection, and climate mitigation, while building an international workforce to support these systems.

The competition's inaugural mission tasks teams with deploying solar sails into low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the use of solar radiation pressure as a means of propulsion. Faculty and students from Minnesota’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics began designing their entry in Spring 2026. Following an evaluation by competition organizers, the team earned the first-place medal and secured a spot in the next stage of Race 1, which will involve the orbital launch of their solar sail next year. The team will be finalizing their design this semester in preparation for the launch.

Learn more about University of Minnesota’s involvement and the details of the competition, as well as ways in which you can get involved in MASST: Racing for Earth's Future