NASA 2020 Human Exploration Rover Challenge

NASA is inviting student teams to participate in the 2020 NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge. The competition focuses on designing, constructing and testing technologies for mobility devices to perform in these different environments.

Each year, hundreds of students from high schools, colleges, and universities join to create a vehicle designed and build human-powered rovers to traverse the simulated surface of another world.

The competition will provide valuable experience to the students engaged in the technologies and concepts that will be needed in future exploration missions.

Eligibility Criteria

• The competition is opened for student teams to participate.
• High school and college students from around the world are eligible to participate.
• An advisor must be at least 21 years old and serves as the primary contact, providing oversight and guidance to the team.

Participants Requirement

• The teams will earn the points by assembling the rover in the allotted time.
• Design a lightweight rover.
• The 2020 Technology Challenge award will focus on wheel design and fabrication.

The tasks in this year’s competition are:

1. Spectrographic Analysis – Take photographs with a camera using different filters.
2. Instrument Deployment – Deploy a solar-powered cell for a scientific instrument.
3. Core Sample Retrieval – Collect a sample consisting of loose rock or mineral grains bound together by a liquid.
4. Solid Soil Sample Retrieval – Collect, bag and store solid surface samples.
5. Liquid Sample Retrieval – Collect, bag and store three separate liquid samples.

Application Process

• The competition is free to entre.
• Register for the Human Exploration Rover Challenge at NASA.gov/rover challenge per the requirements outlined in the guidebook.
• Teams that violate these rules can be eliminated from participating in Challenge.
• Teams that attempt to register through other means or participate in advertised pre-events are not guaranteed a position in the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge.

Entry Form

Benefits

There will be a financial gift to the Lunar Rover NASA Challenge 2020 Project.

Application Deadline: 

• International teams – December 12, 2019 
•  U.S. team – January 16, 2020

Apply Now