NASA Wants Student Innovators For 2011 Great Moonbuggy Race
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Four decades after the first NASA lunar rover rolled across the surface of the moon, innovative students are preparing to design and build a new generation of wheeled wonders.Registration is open for the 18th annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race, set for April 1-2, 2011, in Huntsville, Ala. Participating schools and institutions may register one or two vehicles and teams.
Registration closes Feb. 1.
For complete rules, vehicle design parameters and registration for the race, visit:
http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center organizes the races held at the
U.S. Space & Rocket Center, both in Huntsville. The event challenges
high school and college students to design, build and race
lightweight, human-powered "moonbuggies."
The first rover was developed, built and tested at Marshall in just 17
months. The rover's inaugural trip across the moon's surface took
place on July 31, 1971. It was driven by Apollo 15 astronauts David
Scott and James Irwin. Two more rovers followed, enabling expanded
scientific exploration during the Apollo 16 and 17 missions in 1972.
NASA Great Moonbuggy Race teams carry on the tradition of engineering
ingenuity. The teams attempt to post the fastest vehicle assembly and
race times in their divisions, while incurring the fewest penalties
on a challenging course simulating the rocky, unforgiving surface of the moon.
Prizes are awarded to the three teams in each division that finish
with the fastest race times. NASA and industry sponsors present
additional awards for team spirit, best newcomer, most memorable
buggy wipeout and other achievements.
In 2010, for the first time, the victors in the high school and
college divisions were both from outside the continental United
States. The International Space Education Institute of Leipzig,
Germany, raced to a winning time of just 3 minutes, 37 seconds in the
high school category. The University of Puerto Rico in Humacao, the
only school to enter a moonbuggy every year since the races began in
1994, won the college division with a time of 4 minutes, 18 seconds.
Participation in the race has increased from just eight college teams
in 1994 to more than 70 high school and college national and
international teams in 2010. The high school division was added in 1996.
More than 32,000 people watched live, streaming coverage of the 2010
race on UStream, an interactive, real-time webcasting platform. For
archived footage of the competition, visit:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-great-moonbuggy-race-2010
For images and additional information about previous races, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars/moonbuggy.html
For more information about NASA education programs, visit:
http://www.nasa/gov/education
Source: NASA
