The Greenfield Central High School Rover Team from Greenfield,
Indiana, crosses the finish line during the 2015 Human Exploration Rover
Challenge.
Credits: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given
|
Media are invited to watch as almost 80 teams from
the United States, Italy, Germany, India, Mexico, Columbia and Russia, as well
as Puerto Rico, compete in NASA’s annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge,
April 8-9 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The rover challenge requires student teams to design, construct,
test and race human-powered rovers through an obstacle course that simulates
the terrain potentially found on distant planets, asteroids or moons. Teams
race to finish the three-quarter-mile-long obstacle course in the fastest time,
vying for prizes in various divisions.
The event concludes with a ceremony at 6 p.m. CDT, April 9 in the
Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville, where event sponsors will
present awards for best design, rookie team, pit crew award and other
accomplishments.
Media interested in attending the event should contact Angela
Storey of the Marshall Public and Employee Communications Office at
256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. April 7.
The two-day event and awards ceremony will stream live online at:
This year’s event incorporates two new and important changes.
Teams now are required to design and fabricate their own wheels. Any component
contacting the course surface for traction and mobility, including, but not
limited to wheels, tracks, treads or belts cannot be purchased or considered an
off-the-shelf product. As in years past, teams are not allowed to incorporate
inflated, or un-inflated, pneumatic tires.
The second new feature is an optional Sample Return challenge.
Teams competing in this separate competition will collect four samples --
liquid, small pebbles, large rocks and soil samples -- using a mechanical arm
or grabber they design and build.
Hosted by Marshall, the Human Exploration Rover Challenge
highlights NASA’s goals for future exploration to Mars and beyond. Inspired by
the lunar roving vehicles of the Apollo moon missions, the competition
challenges students to solve engineering problems, while highlighting NASA's
commitment to inspiring new generations of scientists, engineers and explorers.
For more event details, race rules, information on the course,
contributors and photos from previous competitions, as well as links to social
media accounts providing real-time updates, visit: