FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WEBINAR
Advancing Lunar Technologies Through Suborbital Flight Tests
Sept. 2, 2026
Speakers
- Gary Lai, Co-Founder and the Chief Technology Officer, Interlune
- Malay Shah, Aerospace Technology, Gas and Fluid Systems, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
- L. Seth Schisler, Technology and Flight Test Manager, NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program
Abstract
In this webinar moderated by Flight Opportunities personnel, researchers will discuss ways they have leveraged suborbital flights to mature their technologies and build flight heritage ahead of missions sending those technologies to the Moon. Researchers from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Interlune will share overviews of the lunar technologies they’ve developed: OSCAR, a tool to convert trash and human waste generated during spaceflight into useful gases, and Prospect Moon, a lunar resource prospecting tool. They will also discuss how Flight Opportunities, with its fly-fix-fly ethos, helped them test the technologies, and apply lessons from the tests to help prepare for lunar missions. Attendees will learn not only about these emerging technologies but also about how to think through a flight test plan and how to access testing on a range of suborbital vehicles to advance technologies for NASA’s next chapter of lunar exploration.
Edited: CUI removed
Speaker Bios
Gary Lai is a Co-Founder and the Chief Technology Officer of Interlune. As an aerospace engineer, he has been working to open the space frontier in the 21st century so humankind can use the resources of outer space to create a sustainable, prosperous future. He served as the chief architect for New Shepard, a vehicle developed by aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin, and flew on New Shepard’s 20th mission to space. Through his work, he has developed not just technical knowledge but also program management and business development expertise, allowing him to design and integrate meaningful space systems. Mr. Lai holds degrees from Cornell University, where he credits a class he took with the late astronomer Carl Sagan as steering him towards a career in engineering and space exploration, and the University of Washington, where he currently serves on the External Advisory Board for the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Malay Shah is a thermofluids engineer at NASA where he provides thermal and fluid analysis support to a range of projects at Kennedy Space Center, including ignition over-pressure sound suppression water nozzle coverage and modeling chemical reactors. He has worked closely on developing, building, and testing the OSCAR technology to convert non-metabolic waste into useful gasses such as methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. By processing small pieces of trash in a high-temperature reactor, OSCAR is advancing new and innovative technology for managing waste in space. Mr. Shah holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Central Florida.
L. Seth Schisler brings more than 15 years of spaceflight experience spanning technology development, operations, and the management of government and commercial spaceflight systems and vehicles. Since 2023, he has supported NASA’s Flight Opportunities program by providing expert technology evaluation, guidance and flight-test campaign management conducted with commercial suborbital and hosted-orbital flight providers. These campaigns accelerate the demonstration of promising technologies for space exploration, scientific discovery, and the expansion of space commerce. He is also a principal investigator and senior engineering program manager in the Programs and Projects Directorate at NASA’s Ames Research Center, where he leads missions, programs, and projects that advance space exploration and breakthrough aerospace technologies. He currently serves as deputy project manager and spaceflight subject-matter expert for two advanced power technology projects focused on microwave wireless power transfer (µWPT) and solid-state batteries for lunar power distribution and energy storage.
