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More than 100 student teams from around the globe will drive their specially
crafted lunar rovers through a challenging course of rugged, moon-like terrain
at NASA's 17th annual Great Moonbuggy Race in Huntsville, Ala., April 9-10.
Some 1,088 high school, college and university students from 20 states
and Puerto Rico, Canada, Germany, Bangladesh, Serbia, India and Romania are
expected to participate in the race at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
Students begin to prepare for the event each year during the fall
semester. They must design, build and test a sturdy, collapsible, lightweight
vehicle that addresses engineering problems similar to those overcome by the
original Apollo-era lunar rover development team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville in the late 1960s.
The buggies are based on the
design of those classic rovers, which American astronauts drove across the
moon's surface during the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions in the early 1970s.
Teams of students build their vehicles using trail bike tires, aluminum or
composite-metal struts and parts. The best teams drive trains, gears,
suspension, steering and braking systems they find or construct.
Top
prizes are awarded to the three teams in both the high school and
college/university divisions that post the fastest race times, which include
assembly and penalty times. A variety of other prizes are given by race
corporate sponsors. These include "rookie of the year" and the "featherweight"
award, presented to the team with the lightest, fastest buggy.
NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race is one of many educational projects and
initiatives the agency conducts each year to attract and engage America's next
generation of scientists, engineers and explorers. They will carry on the
nation's mission of exploration to unchartered destinations in our solar system.
"NASA is committed to inspiring young people in science, technology,
engineering and math, and the Great Moonbuggy Race is an excellent way for us to
reach out to young people and get them excited and involved in technical
opportunities available to them," said Mike Selby, an avionics technical
assistant in the Marshall Center's Engineering Directorate.
While
completing his engineering degree at the University of Alabama in Huntsville,
Selby was a member of the school's moonbuggy teams, helping them to a
second-place finish in 1995 and to first place in 1996. Since 2001, he has
served each year as a volunteer scorekeeper.
The race is hosted by the
U.S. Space and Rocket Center, and is sponsored by Lockheed Martin Corporation,
The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Jacobs Engineering ESTS
Group, all of Huntsville.
A virtual spokesperson for black technology, BlackEngineer aspires to serve as leading news and information provider on the advancements in black technology with deep insights into black engineering, black entrepreneurs, black education, and historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). In fact, BlackEngineer is one of the very few to promote the achievements of black technology. The Black engineer of the year awards (BEYA) is one of our successful ventures to promote black technology, progress and achievements made in black technology, and the sentiments of the Black community in the US, the UK, Caribbean, and Africa.
Black technology entrepreneurs are increasingly providing the horsepower that drives the global economy. Over the last two decades, black entrepreneurs have created more jobs, and contributed much more to the economic expansion of the Black community as a whole, than any black pastor or politician. Black entrepreneurs are taking risks and building businesses that generate economic growth and increase prosperity in underserved areas, as more minority-owned and minority-focused businesses emerge, willing to serve the financial needs of Black entrepreneurs. US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine's annual list of Top Black Technology Entrepreneurs reflects the expanding scope of leading Black entrepreneurs in information technology, homeland security, and defense.
