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NASA\u00a0will hold its\u00a02026\u00a0Lunabotics\u00a0Challenge\u00a0Tuesday,\u00a0May 19, to Thursday, May\u00a021,\u00a0at the\u00a0Astronauts Memorial Foundation\u2019s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex\u202fin Florida.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Links to view the Lunabotics\u00a0competition live can be found on the agency\u2019s Lunabotics page. The competition is slated to run between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. each day.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Media are invited to attend\u00a0the competition\u00a0event\u00a0on Wednesday, May 20, and should RSVP\u00a0by\u00a04 p.m.\u00a0EDT on Monday,\u00a0May 18,\u00a0to\u00a0the Kennedy newsroom at:\u202fksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
For this challenge,\u00a050 college teams from across the country\u00a0will convene to\u00a0design, build, and operate their own lunar robot\u00a0prototypes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The teams\u2019\u00a0self-driving\u00a0rovers must be capable of building a berm,\u00a0a\u00a0protective barrier,\u00a0from\u00a0soil and other material simulating\u00a0lunar regolith to\u00a0safeguard\u00a0Artemis infrastructure on the Moon.\u00a0In space, such\u00a0berms could\u00a0protect\u00a0equipment from debris during\u00a0lunar\u00a0landings\u00a0and launches, shade cryogenic propellant tank farms,\u00a0help\u00a0shield a nuclear power plant from space radiation, and\u00a0serve other purposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe task of robotically building berm structures will be important for preparation and support of crewed lunar missions,\u201d said Kurt Leucht, NASA software developer, In-Situ Resource Utilization\u202fresearcher, and Lunabotics commentator located at Kennedy. \u201cThese competing teams are not only building critical engineering skills that will assist their future careers, but they are literally helping NASA prepare for our future Artemis missions to the Moon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s\u00a0Lunabotics\u00a0Challenge\u00a0was established in\u00a02010. As one of\u00a0the agency\u2019s\u202fArtemis Student Challenges, the competition is designed to engage and retain students in STEM fields by expanding opportunities for student research and design in science, technology, engineering, and\u00a0mathematics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For more competition information, visit:\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Amanda Griffin\u00a0
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.\u00a0
321-867-2468\u00a0
amanda.griffin@nasa.gov\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n