Skip to main content

NASA challenges kids to design a moon-digging robot

NASA is challenging students in the U.S. to design a moon-digging robot.

The Lunabotics Junior Contest comes as the space agency edges toward the launch of its first Artemis mission that will fly a spacecraft around the moon ahead of a crewed landing in the next few years.

Recommended Videos

As part of efforts to inspire young people to go into engineering and even assist NASA on future missions, the agency hopes the contest will spark some uniquely creative ideas among the nation’s youth.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The contest is being held in collaboration with Future Engineers and asks K-12 students to dream up a robot capable of digging and moving lunar soil, also known as regolith.

NASA says that regolith could one day be used to make lunar concrete for buildings to accommodate astronauts on extended moon missions.

“Extracting resources in deep space will require innovation and creativity, and students are some of the most creative thinkers,” Mike Kincaid, NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement, said in a release. “The next generation always brings new perspectives, inventive ideas, and a sense of optimism to the challenges NASA puts in front of them. I’m really looking forward to seeing the designs they submit to Lunabotics Junior.”

Students entering the contest aren’t expected to build their robots. Instead, they’re asked to describe how the robot will be able to dig and move the lunar regolith. The wannabe engineers will also have to explain how the design and operation of the robot will deal with potentially troublesome lunar dust that can drift around and attach to surfaces when regolith is disturbed.

Those keen to enter the contest can do so individually. Alternatively, teachers can turn it into a class project and enter a group of students together. Entries will be split into two categories — grades K-5 and grades 6-12.

Ten semifinalists will receive a Lunabotics Junior prize pack and four national finalists from each category will win a virtual session with a NASA expert.

The national winner from each category will get to participate in a virtual chat for their class with Janet Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center.

The closing date for the Lunabotics Junior Contest is January 25, 2022.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
NASA astronaut Don Pettit talks photography from the space station
NASA astronaut Don Pettit discussing his photography from aboard the ISS.

NASA ASTRONAUT DISCUSSES PHOTOGRAPHY IN SPACE WITH NASASPACEFLIGHT.COM

NASA astronaut Don Pettit arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in September on his fourth orbital mission in 22 years. Besides working on various science projects on the space-based facility, Pettit is also known for his keen interest in photography, and he regularly shares his impressive efforts -- including rivers, clouds, star trails, and high-speed spacecraft -- on X and Instagram.

Read more
NASA pushes back its Artemis moon missions due to heat shield issues
The Orion crew module for NASA’s Artemis II mission.

NASA has announced that it is delaying its ambitious Artemis II and Artemis III missions, which will see astronauts travel around and then land on the moon for the first time in over 50 years. The missions will be pushed to April 2026 and mid-2027 respectively, which is around six months later than previously planned.

The delay is due to problems with the Orion spacecraft's heat shield. Orion is the capsule in which crew members for each mission will travel, and it must withstand temperatures of nearly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere. On the previous Artemis I mission in 2022, the Orion capsule was used in an uncrewed test and fared generally well, completing the mission as planned.

Read more
NASA to offer major update on Artemis moon plan. Here’s how to watch
An illustration showing Artemis astronauts on the moon.

Watch live! NASA to deliver Artemis moon campaign update ahead of change in leadership

NASA’s top team is about to offer its first major update on its ambitious Artemis program in almost a year.

Read more