Photo: NASA
For the past 25 years, NASA has kept looking for the future human explorers of distant planets, smart enough to build and operate their own machines. Next year, the American space agency will be at it again.
On April 12, 2019, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, NASA will be organizing its annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge, a competition meant for students from high schools, colleges and universities around the world, capable of looking far into the future.
The competition calls for the participant teams to design, engineer and test a rover meant for the exploration of Mars, as well as other planets, moons, and asteroids in our solar system. All rovers must be human-powered.
At the end of last week, NASA announced it has opened the registration books for next year’s competition. For the international teams, registrations are open until December 13, 2018, while for U.S. ones the deadline is January 17, 2019.
Once on site for the competition, all teams and their rovers will have to cross a three-quarter-mile course sprinkled with obstacles that simulate terrain found on alien planets. NASA will not only look for the perfect rover for such a task, but also for the decision-making skills of the drivers, skills which one day would allow explorers to overcome difficulties.
“We are excited to celebrate 25 years of the Human Exploration Rover Challenge,” said in a statement Diedra Williams, education specialist in Marshall’s Academic Affairs Office.
“Last year’s changes brought a whole new level of strategy and excitement to the challenge, and we can’t wait to see what teams will come up with this year to improve their design to meet the new format.”
NASA did not provide any additional details about the rules the rovers must abide by, but it is willing to answer any questions at the following link.
The competition calls for the participant teams to design, engineer and test a rover meant for the exploration of Mars, as well as other planets, moons, and asteroids in our solar system. All rovers must be human-powered.
At the end of last week, NASA announced it has opened the registration books for next year’s competition. For the international teams, registrations are open until December 13, 2018, while for U.S. ones the deadline is January 17, 2019.
Once on site for the competition, all teams and their rovers will have to cross a three-quarter-mile course sprinkled with obstacles that simulate terrain found on alien planets. NASA will not only look for the perfect rover for such a task, but also for the decision-making skills of the drivers, skills which one day would allow explorers to overcome difficulties.
“We are excited to celebrate 25 years of the Human Exploration Rover Challenge,” said in a statement Diedra Williams, education specialist in Marshall’s Academic Affairs Office.
“Last year’s changes brought a whole new level of strategy and excitement to the challenge, and we can’t wait to see what teams will come up with this year to improve their design to meet the new format.”
NASA did not provide any additional details about the rules the rovers must abide by, but it is willing to answer any questions at the following link.
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