[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 72 (Friday, April 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23104-23105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07972]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[NOTICE: (23-032)]


Lunabotics Challenge

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Lunabotics Challenge.

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SUMMARY: The Lunabotics Challenge (one of NASA's Artemis Student 
Challenges, https://stem.nasa.gov/artemis/) has provided college 
students from around the country an opportunity to engage and learn the 
NASA Systems Engineering process by designing and building robotic 
Lunar excavators capable of mining regolith and icy regolith simulants.

DATES: Challenge registration opened on September 14, 2022 and closed 
on October 19, 2022. No further requests for registration will be 
accepted after the stated deadline.
    Other important dates, including deadlines for key deliverables 
from the Teams, are listed on the Challenge website: https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/nasarmc.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To get additional information 
regarding the Lunabotics Challenge, please contact Rich Johanboeke 
(321) 867-0586 and visit: https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/nasarmc.html.
    Questions and comments regarding the challenge should be addressed 
to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary

    The Lunar robot shall drive in a simulated Lunar arena filled with 
Black Point -1 regolith simulant and excavate the icy-regolith simulant 
buried under an overburden of granular material, then return to the 
starting site and deliver the granular material to a simulated 
receiving hopper. More details are provided in Lunabotics Guidebook. 
This is a two-semester, virtual challenge, designed to educate college 
students in the application of the NASA Systems Engineering process. 
The virtual events of the Challenge are as follows: 1. Project 
Management Plan, 2. Systems Engineering Paper, 3. Public Outreach 
Report, 4. Presentation and Demonstration (optional), and a 5. Proof of 
Life Video. NASA is providing the prize purse.
    For more than a decade, NASA has been able to gather valuable data 
about necessary excavation hardware and surface locomotion processes 
that can be implemented as the agency prepares to return to the Moon 
through the Artemis program. Major gaps exist between the functional 
capabilities and the technologies necessary for Lunar surface 
construction, and the requirements needed to narrow these gaps are in 
development and will support the long-term presence on the Moon, also 
known as ``Infrastructure to Stay''. Once identified, NASA will seek 
input from American academia to find new and innovative ways to apply 
existing or develop new technologies to meet Artemis Program 
requirements.
    The skills developed in Lunabotics apply to other high technology 
industries that rely on the systems engineering principles. These 
industries will create a workforce posed to lead a new space-based 
economy and add to the economic strength of our country. NASA directly 
benefits from this challenge by annually assessing student designs and 
data the same way it does for its own, less frequent, prototypes. 
Encouraging innovation in student designs increases the potential of 
identifying clever solutions to the many challenges inherent in future 
Artemis missions.

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)

    One of the goals of Lunabotics is to introduce students to the ABET 
experience by aligning the events to those student outcomes. ABET is a 
nonprofit, ISO 9001 certified organization that accredits college and 
university programs in applied and natural science, computing, 
engineering,

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and engineering technology. ABET accredits college and university 
programs in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, 
engineering, and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor's, 
and master's degree levels. ABET is the basis of quality for STEM 
disciplines all over the world. Schools do not have to be ABET 
accredited to participate.

STEM Engagement

    NASA's journeys have propelled technological breakthroughs, pushed 
the frontiers of scientific research, and expanded our understanding of 
the universe. These accomplishments, and those to come, share a common 
genesis: education in science, technology, engineering, and math. In 
NASA STEM Engagement, we deliver tools for students and educators to 
learn and succeed. We seek to: Create unique opportunities for a 
diverse set of students to contribute to NASA's work in exploration and 
discovery; Build a diverse future STEM workforce by engaging students 
in authentic learning experiences with NASA's people, content, and 
facilities, and attract diverse groups of students to STEM through 
learning opportunities that spark interest and provide connections to 
NASA's mission and work. NASA STEM Engagement strives to increase K-12 
involvement in NASA projects, enhance higher education, support 
underrepresented communities, strengthen online education, and boost 
NASA's contribution to informal education. The intended outcome is a 
generation.

I. Prize Amounts

    Lunabotics has a total prize purse of $28,000.00 USD, (twenty-eight 
thousand United States dollars). There are three categories for awards 
in which teams can place 1st, 2nd or 3rd Place. Teams must meet the 
eligibility requirements to receive a prize from NASA.

II. Eligibility To Participate and Win Prize Money

    To be eligible to win a prize, competitors must register and comply 
with all requirements in the Lunabotics guidebook. Interested Teams 
should refer to the official Lunabotics website (https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/nasarmc.html) for full 
details on eligibility and registration.

III. Official Rules

    The complete official rules for the Lunabotics can be found at: 
https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/nasarmc.html.

Cheryl Parker,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-07972 Filed 4-13-23; 8:45 am]
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