NASA Announces Winners of Weather-shortened Rover Challenge

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has announced the winners of the 2018 Human Exploration Rover Challenge, held April 13 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Buckhorn High School of New Market, Alabama, won first place in the high school division with 84 points; and the University of Alabama in Huntsville - Team 1 won the college/university division with 61 points. Teams were awarded points based on the successfully navigation of obstacles and completion of tasks.

The second day of competition and the awards ceremony were cancelled due to severe weather in the area.

"We could not have asked for better weather on Friday, the excitement and competition were simply incredible, but unfortunately, Saturday's stormy weather did not allow us to continue," said Mona Miller, Rover Challenge project manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "The Rover Challenge team, conferred with Marshall and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, and decided for the safety of our teams and their families to cancel the second day of competition and the awards ceremony. It was a difficult decision and we did not make it lightly."

The competition, hosted by Marshall and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, challenges high school and college teams to design, build and test human-powered roving vehicles inspired by the Apollo lunar missions and future exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

"It is truly inspiring to see the ingenuity demonstrated by these students and in their rovers," Miller said. "I would like to congratulate, not only the winners, but all of the teams for their hard work. Rover Challenge is a great event and it's exciting to see the next generation of engineers and explorers on display."

In its 24th year, the rules and challenges for Rover Challenge were redesigned in 2018 to better simulate a real exploration mission. Once focused on the fastest time, this year's competition challenged teams to complete 14 obstacles and five tasks throughout the half-mile course, with a six-minute supply of "virtual" oxygen.

The obstacles simulated the terrain found throughout the solar system, and the tasks challenged teams to collect and return samples, take photographs and plant a flag. Teams had to decide which tasks and obstacles to attempt or bypass before their clock expired.

Nearly 100 teams took part in the competition, coming from 23 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as well as several different countries, including Brazil, Germany, India and Mexico.

The competition, managed by Marshall'sAcademic Affairs Office, is one of many NASA initiatives to encourage students to study the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to inspire the next generation of explorers.

Replays of the competition are available on a variety of streaming platforms, including Facebook, Periscope and Ustream.

The complete list of award winners is provided below.

High School Division

College/University Division

AIAA Neil Armstrong Best Design Award

Technology Challenge Award

Drive Train Technology Challenge

Featherweight Award

AIAA Telemetry/Electronics Award

Crash and Burn Award

Frank Joe Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award

Team Spirit Award