NASA's 14th Annual Great Moonbuggy Racers Overcome Stormy Weather

NASA's 14th annual Great Moonbuggy Race took place at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama on April 13-14, 2007. Mother Nature tried to drown out this year's Great Moonbuggy Race, but forty-seven high school and college teams from twenty states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Germany raced despite thunder, lightening, and pouring rain.

According to a NASA press release, "The Great Moonbuggy Race" is inspired by the original moonbuggies, or lunar rovers, that were designed, developed, and tested by NASA engineers for Apollo moon missions in the 1970's." NASA's Great Moonbuggy race brings together future engineers and scientists who may be the next generation of explorers traveling to the moon, landing on mars, or designing the spacecraft to get there. Teams of six students use their engineering knowledge to overcome concerns such as weight, size, and versatility. In addition, they utilize math and physics principles during the many months spent designing and building their pedal-powered moonbuggies for the Great Moonbuggy Race. http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov
http://www.spacefef.com/news/viewpr.rss.html?pid=22349

James, a team member from Pittsburg State University, said his team of mechanical and plastics engineers took two semesters to design and build their moonbuggy, named "Pitt Thunder." He said function, efficiency and weight restrictions were the team's primary moonbuggy concerns, but making it attractive was also important. His reason surprised me.

"The monnbuggy will stay in the lab longer if it looks nice," James said. "Ugly moonbuggies are quickly torn apart to make new ones!"

Moonbuggy hardware specifications, race preliminaries, and processes are established for all entrants.The moonbuggy must fit inside a 4'X4'X4' cube when unassembled. Drivers must be able to carry the unassembled moonbuggy twenty feet at the starting line of the course. Next, the moonbuggy is assembled by the drivers, and readied for Flight Certification Review (FCR). Judges inspect the moonbuggy for adherence to design specifications and for safety equipment. The assembly time is calculated into the overall score. Though each team has two chances to race, the moonbuggy is assembled only once. http://www.engr.iupui.edu/me/aiaa/moonbuggy/faq.html

Two members from the team of six, a male and a female, drive the one-half-mile Great Moonbuggy Race course that starts and ends under the Space and Rocket Center's Space Shuttle static display. Normally two teams run the course a few minutes apart, but during inclement weather each moonbuggy runs a separate race. Seventeen obstacles, stationed at intervals along the Great Moonbuggy Race course, present challenges similar to those faced by lunar terrain explorers: steep hills, craters, "lunar sand," large rocks, and bumps. Two judges are stationed at each obstacle. If a moonbuggy becomes disabled, it is pulled off the course. http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov .

The Great Moonbuggy Race announcer reminded students not to run along the edges of the Moonbuggy Race course with their favored team, because wet and slippery conditions precipitate accidents. The school spirit of fellow classmates apparently blocked that message. I watched moonbuggy after moonbuggy speed over a hill, followed by a line of cheering students.

All Great Moonbuggy Race teams thrive on the challenge of the race. This year's racers were no exception. Though human spirit did not give up, sometimes a moonbuggy did. At this year's Great Moonbuggy race, the team from Morningside College in Indiana had a brake go out and was eliminated from the first race. This is characteristic of the "Safety First" NASA principle. Other racers faced similar or unique mechanical malfunctions. Fortunately, teams are allowed two runs, and the best score is counted for the competition. The Morningside College competitors took their moonbuggy to the "Pit Area" for repairs and prepared for the second race.

One of the seats from Pittsburg State University's "Pitt Thunder" broke in the middle of the race. The female driver had to run half the course laying straight back while pedaling with everything she had. Thanks to her, the team finished the race despite structural failure.

The Rochester Institute of Technology team from Rochester, New York, won first place in the college division of NASA's 14th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race. The University of Puerto Rico, Humacoa, took second place. Pittsburg State University finished third. Pittsburg State University won first place last year.

Of the high school teams who raced on Friday, Huntsville's Center for Technology won for the second year in a row. A second team from Huntsville's Center for Technology took second place. Lafayette County C-1 in Higginsville, Mo. finished in third place and also won a special "Development Design" award.

Prizes are awarded to the top three winning teams in both the High School division and the College division. Awards go to the six team members and their advisor.

The Rochester Institute of Technology team received a cash prize from Northrop Grunman. They also received a trophy depicting NASA's original lunar rover vehicle. Second-and-third place teams received plaques, and individual members of the three teams received medals.

An award for "Best Design" went to Pittsburg State University for best solving the engineering problem of navigating the lunar surface. Murray State University of Murray, Kentucky., received an award for "Most Unique Buggy" in the college division. A "Pitts Crew Award" for ingenuity and persistence in overcoming problems in the race was awarded to Morningside College of Sioux City, Iowa. Carlton University of Ontario, Canada, received recognition for braving the most spectacular crash of the race. The University of Utah from Salt Lake City earned the "Rookie Award" for running the fastest first-race time in the competition and also won a special safety systems award. Returning race competitors from Pittsburg Sate University won the "Most Improved" award.
http://www.nasa/gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2007/07-045.html

The first place Center for Technology team received a trophy depicting NASA's original lunar rover vehicle, The winning team also gets free tuition to the week-long Space Camp program in Huntsville. The second and third place teams receive plaques honoring their achievement, and individual members of all three teams are given medals. http://www.nasa/gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2007/07-045.html

The Great Moonbuggy Race is sponsored by the Northrop Grunman Corporation. Other contributors include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), ATK Launch Systems, Inc., CBS affiliate WHNT Channel 19 of Huntsville, Jacobs Technology, Morgan Research Corp., Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), The Tennessee Valley Chapter of the System Safety Society, Inc., and the United Space Alliance, LLC.