Two teams of Indian students from the New Delhi and Mumbai regions have won awards from NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge. The KIET Group of Institutions in Delhi-NCR won the award in the “Crash and Burn” category, while the Kanakia International School from Mumbai was given the “Rookie of the Year” award. The HERC celebrated its 30th anniversary as a NASA competition, and more than 600 students with 72 teams from around the world participated. The Parish Episcopal School from Dallas in the United States secured the first place in the high school division and the University of Alabama in Huntsville captured the college/university title.
The annual engineering competition, one of NASA’s longest-standing challenges, held its concluding event on April 19 and 20 at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama, near the NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre. The participating teams represented 42 colleges and universities and 30 high schools from 24 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 13 other countries, including India, from around the world.
The teams were awarded points based on navigating a half-mile obstacle course, conducting mission-specific task challenges and completing multiple safety and design reviews with NASA engineers. “This student design challenge encourages the next generation of scientists and engineers to engage in the design process by providing innovative concepts and unique perspectives,” said Vemitra Alexander, HERC activity lead for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement.
“While celebrating the 30th anniversary of the challenge, HERC also continues NASA’s legacy of providing valuable experiences to students who may be responsible for planning future space missions, including crewed missions to other worlds.” The HERC is one of NASA’s eight Artemis Student Challenges reflecting the goals of the Artemis programme, which seeks to land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon while establishing a long-term presence for science and exploration. NASA uses such challenges to encourage students to pursue degrees and careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
