The problem of locating water on the moon is being solved by a research engineer from Ethiopia.
There can't be life without water.
The axiom remains the same whether humans are on the Earth or not.
The launch of the Artemis 1 rocket is the beginning of an ambitious space exploration programme that is designed to take humans back to the moon.
It's important to address the issue of how to get hold of water outside of Earth. The lunar base would be impossible without the precious liquid and Dr Berhanu is leading a team working on how it could be found.
Transporting water from Earth is expensive and inefficient. The moon could be used as a platform for further space travel if lunar water could be used to make rocket fuel.
A prototype light-weight compact spectrometer is being developed by Dr Berhanu and his team.
"It's the million-dollar question," he says by phone from a US office of Nasa.
Since getting to graduate school at the University of Virginia, Dr Berhanu has been focused on developing space instruments that would solve problems for NASA, and the search for water is the biggest problem of all.
Water has been found on the moon. The problem with most methods of detection is that they can't tell the difference between water and hydroxyl, two hydrogen-rich compounds.
The device assisted by the laser that Dr Berhanu is working on emits particles of light that can be used to find water.
It has been difficult in the past to reach this frequency with quantum cascade lasers.
Dr Berhanu describes it as a novel technological development that will allow astronauts to use a hand-held device to find both the location and volume of water, something that has not been achieved before.
A remotely operated rover could be used to deploy the instrument. Space is at a premium, so it's important to reduce the size and weight of any objects designed to go on a lunar mission.
Dr Berhanu, who is based at the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, received over two million dollars to work on the prototype. Dr Berhanu is optimistic that it can be done and that it will work.
He sees his determination and perseverance as defining characteristics for himself.
After graduating from high school in Ethiopia, the young man moved to the US to study physics and engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University.
He needed to be self reliant.
I didn't have a support network when I arrived in the US. I was isolated from the culture I grew up in. He said that the first thing he thought of when he moved to his new country was to work hard and succeed in school.
There was the passion to know more, and the curiosity to know more about what the universe looked like and how big it is"
It was a risk to leave Ethiopia but the opportunities to work with cutting-edge technologies and on exciting research projects were hard to refuse.
Looking out at the universe and wondering what was there came from closer to home.
His early introduction to the Bible led him to ask questions about the universe and how it came about.
Dr Berhanu looked beyond himself because of a strict adherence to the scriptures.
He says he was fascinated by how things were created.
A young boy growing up in Ethiopia may help solve one of the key barriers to further space exploration by asking questions and looking for answers.
Finding the right mentors was a key to his success.
He says to have a dream, have a plan and work towards it.
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