NASA Invites Media To Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition

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May 18, 2012, 11:44 ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., May 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 50 teams of undergraduate and graduate students from eight countries will come to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida May 21-26 to take part in the third annual Lunabotics Mining Competition.

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Practice sessions will take place May 21-22, followed by the official competition the rest of the week. Media are invited to cover the opening day ceremony and competition on Wednesday, May 23, from noon - 4 p.m. EDT at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. For access to the facility, journalists should contact Andrea Farmer at 321-449-4318 or [email protected]. Requests for interviews with NASA representatives need to be submitted to Tracy Young at 321-867-2468 or [email protected].

The teams have designed and built remote controlled or autonomous robots that can excavate simulated lunar soil. During the competition, the teams' designs, known as lunabots, will go head-to-head to determine whose machine can collect and deposit the most simulated moon dust within a specified amount of time.

The competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The project provides a competitive environment that may result in innovative ideas and solutions that potentially could be applied to future NASA missions.

Video highlights of the practice and competition will air on the NASA TV Video File. For downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

To view the competition webcast, visit:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-edge3

For more information about the competition and a list of participating teams, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/lunabotics

SOURCE NASA