On April 15th, the NASA lunabotics team competed in a virtual competition with about 54 other universities and colleges. The purpose of the competition is to design, build, and operate a robot capable of navigating lunar terrain. The team got points for various categories, such as autonomy, weight, innovative design, and various other categories; the bot is able to dig, dump, and drive.  

The Lunabotics Team demonstrated their robot to sponsor FirstEnergy, along with dozens of STEM faculty, staff, and students in a temporary sandpit outside of Moser Hall, generously donated by AP O'Horo. The YSU team was the only team in the region to have a working robot in time for the competition.

The team has some ideas on how to improve on the design for next year, including printed circuit board (PCB) designs and adding suspensions, but it depends on the rules for next year and how much NASA wants the team to retain from the previous design. The lunabotics team is looking forward to competing in person next year at the Kennedy Space Center and can’t wait to begin building their next rover!

Click HERE to see the list of schools that competed.