[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19742-19743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07552]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice 13-032]


Centennial Challenges: 2014 Night Rover Challenge

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of Centennial Challenges 2014 Night Rover Challenge.

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SUMMARY: This notice is issued in accordance with 51 U.S.C. 20144(c).
    The 2014 Night Rover Challenge is scheduled and teams that wish to 
compete may register. Centennial Challenges is a program of prize 
competitions to stimulate innovation in technologies of interest and 
value to NASA and the nation. The 2014 Night Rover Challenge is a prize 
competition designed to encourage development of new energy storage 
technologies or application of existing storage technologies in unique 
ways for application in extreme space environments. Competitors will 
need to demonstrate high energy density storage systems (>330w-hr/kg) 
that would enable a rover to operate throughout lunar darkness cycles. 
Cleantech Open of Palo Alto, California administers the Challenge for 
NASA. NASA is providing the $1,500,000 prize purse.

DATES: 2014 Night Rover Challenge will be held January 20-April 4, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: 2014 Night Rover Challenge will be conducted at the NASA 
Glenn Research Center, Plumbrook Station located in Sandusky, OH.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for or get additional 
information regarding the 2014 Night Rover Challenge, please visit: 
http://nightrover.org
    For general information on the NASA Centennial Challenges Program 
please visit: www.nasa.gov/challenges. General questions and comments 
regarding the program should be addressed to Dr. Larry Cooper, 
Centennial Challenges Program, NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20546-0001. Email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary

    Solar energy is a renewable source that would be available on the 
Moon and at other destinations in space. To enable practical system 
demonstrations of diverse design solutions by independent teams, Phase 
I of this Challenge will be conducted in an ambient Earth environment 
in a NASA test chamber. The Phase I Challenge will be to demonstrate a 
portable energy storage system through two cycles of lunar daylight and 
darkness. During the daylight period, systems will receive electrical 
energy from a simulated solar collector. During darkness, the stored 
energy will be used for simulated tasks of thermal management, 
scientific experimentation, communications, and rover movement. The 
competitors may store and extract the energy by any means they desire. 
The winning system

[[Page 19743]]

will be the one that has the highest energy storage density in excess 
of 330 Watt-hours/kg. The available prize purse is $1.5 million.
    A planned future Phase II Challenge will entail testing energy 
storage systems in NASA thermal and thermal-vacuum chambers to 
demonstrate applicability to the space and lunar environment.

I. Prize Amounts

    The total Night Rover Challenge purse is $1,500,000 (one million 
five hundred thousand U.S. dollars). Prizes will be offered for entries 
that meet specific requirements detailed in the Night Rover Challenge 
Rules.

II. Eligibility

    To be eligible to win a NASA prize, competitors must (1) Register 
and comply with all requirements in the rules and team agreement; (2) 
in the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain 
a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an 
individual, whether participating singly or in a group, shall be a 
citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and (3) shall not 
be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of 
their employment.

III. Rules

    The NASA prize purse will be awarded to the energy storage systems 
with the highest energy density that meet all requirements of the 
competition. The complete rules and team agreement for the 2014 Night 
Rover Challenge can be found at: http://nightrover.org

    Dated: March 26, 2013.
Michael J. Gazarik,
Associate Administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-07552 Filed 4-1-13; 8:45 am]
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