KSC-2011-4161

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the "Lunarena" at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, university students give their "thumbs up" after maneuvering their remote controlled or autonomous excavators, called lunabots, in a "sand box" of ultra-fine simulated lunar soil during NASA's second annual Lunabotics Mining Competition. Thirty-six teams of undergraduate and graduate students from the United States, Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia and India will participate in NASA's Lunabotics Mining Competition May 26 - 28 at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The competition is designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Teams will maneuver their remote controlled or autonomous excavators, called lunabots, in about 60 tons of ultra-fine simulated lunar soil, called BP-1. The competition is an Exploration Systems Mission Directorate project managed by Kennedy's Education Division. The event also provides a competitive environment that could result in innovative ideas and solutions for NASA's future excavation of the moon. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller