Two Indian Student Groups From Punjab, Tamil Nadu Win NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge

New Delhi: The NASA 2022 Human Exploration Rover Challenge have been won by two Indian student groups from Punjab and Tamil Nadu and the space agency announced it during a virtual awards ceremony on April 29.

Altogether, 91 teams from 58 colleges and 33 high schools participated in this challenge.

Under this challenge, the US and international student teams had to design, engineer, and test a human-powered rover on a course simulating terrain found on rocky bodies in the solar system.

Besides this, the teams also performed mission assignments, including sample retrievals and spectrographic analysis, while negotiating the course.

"This year, students were asked to design a course that would mimic obstacles as if they were competing in Huntsville," Aundra Brooks-Davenport, activity lead for the challenge at Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Alabama, said on May 3.

"Ensuring team safety was a major factor in developing the design of their own obstacles. We are excited about the virtual competition and the opportunity it provided our teams," Brooks-Davenport added.

The STEM Engagement Award in the High School division was won by the Decent Children Model Presidency School from Punjab.

On the other hand, the team from Vellore Institute of Technology in Tamil Nadu clinched the Social Media Award in the College/University division.

The challenge is managed by the US Space agency's Office of STEM Engagement. It uses challenges and competitions to further the agency's goal of encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

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