On Monday, NASA announced its Lunabotics 2026 competition, which challenges a team or individual to build a robot capable of moving and building things on the surface of the Moon.
The challenge comes as the space agency prepares for future lunar activity as part of its Artemis program.
NASA officials said their annual competition, held since 2010, is one of several student competitions associated with Project Artemis, and that next year's event will seek mechanical robots capable of building mounds of lunar regolith, using loose, fragmented material found on the moon's surface.
“We are excited to continue the Lunabotics University Challenge as NASA develops new technologies for Moon-to-Mars missions for the Artemis program,” said Robert Mueller, NASA’s chief technologist.
US space agency officials stated that berms will be crucial during lunar missions to protect against explosions during landing and launch. They added that, among other things, berms will also play a role in shading cryogenic fuel tanks and providing radiation protection around nuclear power plants.
“Regolith excavation and movement is a fundamental necessity for building infrastructure on the Moon and Mars, and this competition is building 21st-century skills in the workforce of tomorrow,” said Muller, also co-founder and chief judge of the Lunabotics competition.
NASA said the competition will provide opportunities to gain hands-on experience in computer programming, design, manufacturing, production, and other important technical skills.
Officials will notify the selected teams when the competition begins, and the top 10 teams will be invited to present their robotic creations at the final competition, which will be held in May in Florida at the Artemis Arena in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
The team with the highest score will receive the Lunabotics Grand Prize and participate in an exhibition event at NASA Kennedy Space Center.
The in-person selection event will be held May 12–17 at the University of Central Florida's Space Institute laboratory in Orlando.
NASA's launch of the competition on Monday follows the announcement last week of a separate NASA competition for a special space wheel designed by a U.S. inventor or team.
In the meantime, interested participants can apply through NASA's portal starting Monday, and more information can be found in the mission guide.
Sourse: www.upi.com
