NASA’s popular Human Exploration Rover Challenge is back this year on Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12. The event takes place at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Aviation Challenge course near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
What Happens at the Challenge?
Hundreds of student teams from around the world will compete by driving vehicles they designed and built themselves through a tricky obstacle course. This year, there is a new remote-control division alongside the traditional human-powered rover division.
Teams include students from 35 colleges and universities, 38 high schools, and two middle schools, representing 20 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and 16 other countries.
Event Details for Media and Public
The event is free and open to the public. Rover runs will happen from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) on both days, or until all teams finish the course. Media interested in attending or conducting interviews should contact Taylor Goodwin by 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, at 938-210-2891.
Awards and Recognition
After the competition, NASA will hold an awards ceremony on Saturday, April 12, at 5:30 p.m. inside the Space Camp Operations Center. Teams will receive awards for achievements like best rover design, best pit crew, best social media presence, and more. The awards celebrate the hard work students have put into this months-long engineering project.
About the Human Exploration Rover Challenge
The challenge helps students think like NASA engineers working on the Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars. Teams design and build lunar rovers to navigate obstacles simulating exploring the Moon’s surface.
The challenge started in 1994 as the NASA Great Moonbuggy Race to celebrate the Apollo 11 anniversary. It grew to include high school teams in 1996 and was renamed the Human Exploration Rover Challenge in 2014. Over 15,000 students have participated since it began, many of whom now work in aerospace fields.
NASA’s STEM Engagement
Managed by NASA Marshall’s Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement, the Rover Challenge is one of eight Artemis Student Challenges. NASA uses these competitions to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
