Photo: NASA
NASA has launched a new challenge! This time, it asks students to envision a robot that can scoop or dig lunar soil called regolith and carry it from an area located around the South Pole of the Moon to a holding container close to where Artemis astronauts may explore in the future.
NASA is getting ready to send astronauts back to the Moon with the Artemis program, and this time it plans to establish a long-term lunar presence that will serve as a springboard for future exploration of Mars.
Robotic excavators could be the ideal solution for transporting regolith on our natural satellite as part of NASA's lunar surface sustainability concept. It will focus on constructing a base camp for Artemis astronauts at the lunar South Pole and an infrastructure to support the long-term exploration of the Moon. This concept relies on lunar regolith, which may be used to make lunar concrete, reducing the amount and cost of materials that would otherwise have to be transported from Earth.
The idea of using a Moon-digging robot is not new. NASA has been testing several configurations of such robots over the years, trying to find the ideal design that can withstand the long, cold lunar night and travel across the rugged surface of the satellite.
Last year, the space agency asked the public to create a new bucket drum for its robot called RASSOR (short for Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot). And now, NASA is back with a new challenge in which students can take part.
To enter the contest, they have to send an image of a small robot that can scoop/dig and move the lunar regolith and a written summary that explains the way of its operation. That robot can either move large amounts of dirt at once or transport less dirt over multiple trips. Participants should also find a solution to keep lunar dust off the robot's components, affecting its functionality.
The contest will be open for K-12 students in the United States until January 25th, 2022. Two lucky winners for the K-5 and 6-12 categories will have the chance to get a virtual classroom chat with Kennedy Space Center director Janet Petro.
Robotic excavators could be the ideal solution for transporting regolith on our natural satellite as part of NASA's lunar surface sustainability concept. It will focus on constructing a base camp for Artemis astronauts at the lunar South Pole and an infrastructure to support the long-term exploration of the Moon. This concept relies on lunar regolith, which may be used to make lunar concrete, reducing the amount and cost of materials that would otherwise have to be transported from Earth.
The idea of using a Moon-digging robot is not new. NASA has been testing several configurations of such robots over the years, trying to find the ideal design that can withstand the long, cold lunar night and travel across the rugged surface of the satellite.
Last year, the space agency asked the public to create a new bucket drum for its robot called RASSOR (short for Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot). And now, NASA is back with a new challenge in which students can take part.
To enter the contest, they have to send an image of a small robot that can scoop/dig and move the lunar regolith and a written summary that explains the way of its operation. That robot can either move large amounts of dirt at once or transport less dirt over multiple trips. Participants should also find a solution to keep lunar dust off the robot's components, affecting its functionality.
The contest will be open for K-12 students in the United States until January 25th, 2022. Two lucky winners for the K-5 and 6-12 categories will have the chance to get a virtual classroom chat with Kennedy Space Center director Janet Petro.
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