National Scene Magazine April 2010 Space Article

National Scene Magazine April 2010 Space Article

http://www.nationalscenemagazine.com/html/other_news.html


Which Student Team Will Win the Top Award This Year?

Over 1,000 Students From Around the World Will Compete in NASA’s 17th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race

Written by: Karen Benardello


Student teams from around the world will be testing their own designed lunar rovers through a course set up by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at its 17th annual Great Moonbuggy Race in Huntsville, Ala., the agency has announced via a press release on its website. More than 100 student teams, featuring about 1,088 high school and college students from 20 states, as well from Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, India, Romania and Serbia, will compete April 9-10 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, which hosts the event.

The students’ rovers will be put through a challenging course of rugged, moon-like terrain. The teams began designing, building and testing their vehicles during the fall semester. The vehicles must be sturdy, collapsible and lightweight, and be based on the designs by the “rover development team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville in the late 1960s,” according to the press release. Students are required to use bike tires and aluminum or composite-metal parts, and often times teams add gears, suspension, steering and braking systems they find or construct.

Three high school and three college teams are awarded the top prizes. The teams that win must have the fastest racing times, which include assembly time. The Moonbuggy’s corporate sponsors, including Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Jacobs Engineering ESTS Group, also award in such categories as ‘rookie of the year’ and ‘featherweight.’

The event is a great idea for all students interested in science and space. NASA should be awarded for carrying on this educational project for 17 years, as it engages students interested in engineering, technology and math as well. Students from other countries may not have the same technical and scientific opportunities at home that this event offers, so allowing other countries to participate is also a great idea.