Moon News  
NASA Challenges Students To Design Tools For Moon Rovers

Tool or instrument designs that can withstand the sharp-edged particles could help future astronauts and might earn students an internship at a NASA facility.
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 01, 2008
A new NASA contest challenges college-level students to design tools or instrument packages that could be used on the next generation of human-driven moon rovers. Student will have the opportunity to engage in NASA's return to the moon by designing equipment that will help astronauts accomplish tasks on the lunar surface.

Moon explorers will need to navigate in darkness around the moon's south pole and collect lunar regolith, or moon dust, for on-site analysis and radiation detection.

They will need to communicate with Earth, a lunar outpost and spacecraft orbiting the moon. Moon inhabitants also will conduct video surveys of the moon's surface for transmission back to Earth, and practice rescue and the safe return of astronauts to their outpost from sorties.

Moon dust has the potential to serve as an on-site resource for building materials, water and oxygen. However, because of its structure, the dust can damage space suits, rovers and other equipment. The particles have sharp, jagged edges and contain microscopic shards of glass.

Tool or instrument designs that can withstand the sharp-edged particles could help future astronauts and might earn students an internship at a NASA facility.

The contest is open to full-time students enrolled in accredited post-secondary institution such as universities, colleges, trade schools, community colleges and professional schools in the United States or its territories. Individuals or teams may apply, and interdisciplinary teams from across departments and institutions are encouraged.

NASA plans to invite contest winners to the next set of lunar technology mission tests planned for the summer or fall of 2009. Paid internships also are planned as student awards. The contest continues NASA's tradition of investing in the nation's education programs and ties into the agency's goal of strengthening NASA and America's future workforce.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Submission requirements
NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


NASA's Dirty Secret: Moon Dust
Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 01, 2008
The Apollo Moon missions of 1969-1972 all share a dirty secret. "The major issue the Apollo astronauts pointed out was dust, dust, dust," says Professor Larry Taylor, Director of the Planetary Geosciences Institute at the University of Tennessee.







  • Astronaut vs. Earthlings chess game begins
  • Successful Re-Entry Marks Bright Future For ATV
  • NASA marks 50th birthday, looks to new frontiers
  • Space key to mankind's survival: NASA chief

  • Nicaraguan Volcano Provides Insight Into Early Mars
  • Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow, Soil Data Suggest Liquid Past
  • MRO Reveals Rock Fracture Plumbing On Mars
  • The Ancient Rains Of Mars



  • Worlds In Collision
  • NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Baked And Ready For More Tests
  • US astronomers discover inter-planetary collision
  • TNO Star Separators Help ESO With Detection Of Exoplanets

  • Scientists Create Balloon One Atom Thick
  • MU Scientists Go Green With Gold, Environmentally Friendly Nanoparticles
  • Rosnanotech Aims For 157 Billion Dollars In Output By 2015
  • New Nano-Positioners May Have Atomic-Scale Precision

  • Officials: Cadavers used in NASA project
  • Researcher Seeks To Protect Muscles Of Astronauts
  • Microscopic Astronauts To Go Back In Orbit
  • Astronauts collect blood for immune study

  • Sea Launch Successfully Delivers Galaxy 19 To Orbit
  • Sea Launch Countdown Underway For The Galaxy 19 Mission
  • Telesat Launches Nimiq 4 Broadcast Satellite
  • ArianeSpace Buys 10 Soyuz Rockets For Kourou Spaceport

  • Iran To Conduct First Satellite Launch Soon
  • Outside View: Reusable rocket breakthrough
  • Grant For Eco-Friendly Rocket Engine
  • College Students Develop Rocket Motors In Tamil Nadu

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement