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Members of the Artemis Generation kicked up some simulated lunar dust as part of NASA\u2019s\u202f2024 Lunabotics Challenge, held at The Astronauts Memorial Foundation\u2019s Center for Space Education at the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex\u202fin Florida. When the dust settled, two teams emerged from Artemis Arena as the grand prize winners of this year\u2019s competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teams from Iowa State University and the University of Alabama shared the Artemis grand prize award for scoring the most cumulative points during the annual competition. Judges scored competing teams on project management plans, presentations and demonstrations, systems engineering papers, robotic berm building, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is the first time in Lunabotics\u2019 15-year history that the competition ended in a tie for the top prize, and most likely the last time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth teams earned their win, but a tie was never on the table,\u201d said Rich Johanboeke, project manager at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. \u201cThese students work hard and sacrifice much throughout the year to be a part of this challenge and to come to Kennedy, so our team will look into creating a tie-breaking event for future events.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While previous Lunabotics competitions focused on lunar mining, this year\u2019s competition reflected the current needs of NASA\u2019s Artemis missions. Teams designed, built, and operated autonomous robotic rovers capable of building a berm structure from lunar regolith. Among other uses, berms on the Moon could provide protection against blast and material ejected during lunar landings and launches, shade cryogenic propellant tank farms, or shield a nuclear power plant from space radiation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of the 58 college teams across the country that applied to the challenge, 42 were invited to demonstrate their robotic rovers during the qualifying round held in the Exolith Lab at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.\u202fFrom there, 10 finalist teams made the short trip to Kennedy for the two-day final round, where their robots attempted to construct berms from simulated lunar regolith inside Artemis Arena.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the competition we had over 150 berm construction runs in the arena,\u201d said Robert Mueller, senior technologist for Advanced Products Development in NASA\u2019s Exploration Research and Technology Programs Directorate, as well as lead judge and co-founder of the original Lunabotics robotic mining challenge. \u201cSo, teams went into the arena 150 times and created berms \u2013 that\u2019s pretty impressive. And 28 teams, which is 65% of the teams that attended, achieved berm construction points, which is the highest we have ever had. That speaks to the quality of this competition.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teams competing in this year\u2019s Lunabotics applied the NASA Systems Engineering Process to create their prototype robots and spent upwards of nine months focused on making their designs realities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really put a lot of work in this year,\u201d said Vivian Molina Sunda, team and electrical lead for University of Illinois at Chicago. \u201cOur team of 10 put in about 3,400 hours, so it\u2019s really exciting to get to Kennedy Space Center and know we made the top 10.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The University of Illinois team received two awards for its efforts \u2013 the Mission Control \u201cFailure is Not an Option\u201d Award for Team Persistence and the <\/strong>Innovation Technology Award for best design based on creative construction, innovative technology, and overall architecture.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the hundreds of Artemis Generation members who took part in this year\u2019s competition, Lunabotics was an opportunity to connect to NASA\u2019s mission, work, and people, while also using classroom skills and theories in ways that will benefit them in future STEM careers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe go into engineering because we want to do stuff, we want to make things,\u201d said Ben Gulledge, team and mechanical lead for the University of Alabama\u2019s Artemis grand prize co-winning team. \u201cThis competition gives you the opportunity to take all your classroom theory and put it into practice and learn where your gaps in knowledge are. So, you learn to be a better designer and learn where you can improve in the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Coordinated by NASA\u2019s\u202fOffice of STEM Engagement,\u202fthe Lunabotics competition is one of NASA\u2019s Artemis Student Challenges, designed to engage and retain students in STEM fields. These challenges are designed to provide students with opportunities to research and design in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math, while fostering innovative ideas and solutions to challenges likely to be faced during the agency\u2019s Artemis missions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To view the complete list of NASA\u2019s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge winners, or for more information visit:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n Winners List<\/strong>\u00a0 Artemis Grand Prize<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Iowa State University, The University of Alabama\u00a0<\/p>\n Robotic Construction Award\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n First Place \u2013 Iowa State University\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Second Place \u2013 The University of Alabama\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Third Place \u2013 University of Utah\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Systems Engineering Paper Award<\/strong>\u00a0 Leaps and Bounds Award<\/strong>\u00a0 Nova Award for Stellar Systems Engineering by a First Year Team<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Ohio State University\u00a0<\/p>\n STEM Engagement Award<\/strong>\u00a0 Honorable Mention \u2013 Harrisburg University of Science and Technology\u00a0<\/p>\n Presentation and Demonstration<\/strong>\u00a0 First Steps Award \u2013 Best Presentation by a First Year Team\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Harrisburg University of Science and Technology\u00a0<\/p>\n Innovation Technology Award<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n University of Illinois at Chicago\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
First Place \u2013 College of DuPage\u00a0
Second Place \u2013 The University of Alabama\u00a0
Third Place \u2013 Purdue University-Main Campus\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York University\u00a0<\/p>\n
First Place \u2013 University of North Florida\u00a0
Second Place \u2013 Auburn University\u00a0
Third Place \u2013 Iowa State University\u00a0<\/p>\n
First Place \u2013 University of North Carolina at Charlotte\u00a0
Second Place \u2013 Purdue University-Main Campus\u00a0
Third Place \u2013 University of Utah\u00a0<\/p>\n