Students Race to the Future in NASA’s Great Moonbuggy Race

It’s not common knowledge, but high school and college students across the country know it is quite possible to ride across the surface of the moon without leaving Earth. Fifty-eight high school and college student teams are putting the finishing touches on designs of their very own lunar vehicles. Teams from the United States and Puerto Rico are competing in NASA’s 13th annual Great Moonbuggy Race. The event, which is open to the media and public, runs April 7-8 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.

The race was inspired by the lunar rover vehicles astronauts drove on the moon during three Apollo missions. Students will race their human-powered vehicles in time trials across a simulated moon surface. Teams have spent countless hours working on their designs. They had to find parts, manufacture and fine-tune their vehicles to ensure they survive the rough terrain of the race’s half-mile obstacle course. Along the way, students learned valuable lessons about teamwork, engineering and overcoming challenges to reach goals.

“The competition draws the next generation of scientists and engineers,” said Jim Ellis, manager of the Academic Affairs Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. “The lessons they learn here can be carried on into their future studies and eventually to their careers. These students may become our next explorers, carrying out the Vision for Space Exploration to return to the moon and travel to Mars,” he added.

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