Indian Student Groups Win NASA 2022 Human Exploration Rover Challenge

Two students from Punjab and Tamil Nadu have won the NASA 2022 Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Announced by NASA at the virtual awards ceremony on April 29, the challenge was attended by up to 91 teams, including 58 universities and 33 high schools.

The challenge required a team of US and international students to design, build, and test a human-powered rover on a course that simulates the terrain found in the rock bodies of the solar system. The team also performed mission tasks such as sampling and spectroscopic analysis during course negotiations.

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

She further said that team safety was the major factor in developing the design of its own obstacles and that the teams were excited about the virtual competition and the opportunity it provided to them.

Decent Children Model Presidency School in Punjab won the STEM Engagement Award in the high school category. According to a press release, the team at Vellore Institute of Technology in Tamil Nadu has been declared the winner in the college category of the Social Media Awards.