NASA's contest wants kids to design a new robot that could dig and move the moon's soil--similar to what the Artemis program of the space agency is currently doing.
The full moon rises over the Bondi Beach in Sydney on September 21, 2021.
NASA Contest for Kids to Design Moon-Digging Robot
As per the latest report of Phys.org, the said competition carries the name Lunabotics Junior Content, which will be open to all K-12 students until Jan. 25, 2022, at least in the United States.
In addition, it does not matter if the young minds go to a public or a private learning institution or even a home school.
The NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration contest is made possible in collaboration with Future Engineers, which is home to numerous 3D design contests concerning space.
NASA Contest and Future Space Missions
According to Engadget, the contest is not meant to use the engineering prowess of the young folks to develop the next spacecraft that NASA will be using in future Artemis program missions.
Instead, the competition actually seeks to inspire young minds in creating such robots. It comes as they could one day be the next engineers that could produce innovative tech for the multiple colonization plans that the space agency is looking into.
For instance, some of the scientists of NASA from the Jet Propulsion Lab predicted that human landing on the moons of both Jupiter and Saturn could likely occur before 2100. Not to mention that recent space missions are targeting to fly crewed missions on Mars and the Moon.
NASA's Artemis Program
As such, NASA and Future Engineers' contest is encouraging students in the US to use their engineering prowess and creativity to develop a space robot.
To be precise, the robot needs to be able to dig the soil of the moon from the lunar South Pole and bring the sample to a container where the Artemis astronauts are expected to go in future missions.
Not just that, although NASA gives the students the task of designing the robot, it should still be within the size of 3.5 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet.
It is worth noting that the ongoing Artemis program of the US space agency is slated to launch a monumental mission, which will be landing the first woman and person of color into the Moon.
On top of that, human landing on the Moon will also further explore the Moon as NASA readies its upcoming Mars mission.
NASA Lunabotic Junior Contest for Kids: How to Join
Young folks could submit their entries to Future Engineers' website, including a photo of the design of the moon-digging robot, as well as a written brief explanation on how the concept would mine samples from the Moon.
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Written by Teejay Boris
