Team Registration Open for Lunabotics Mining Competition – Deadline Feb 28, 2011

NASA is challenging U.S. and international undergraduate and graduate student teams to design and build a remote-controlled or autonomous excavator that could be used on the moon. The excavator must be able to collect and deposit a minimum of 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of lunar simulant in 15 minutes.

Design teams must include one faculty advisor from a college or university and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. A group of universities may work in collaboration, and multidisciplinary teams are encouraged. Selected teams will compete in the Lunabotics Mining Competition at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 23-28, 2011.

Lunabotics Mining Competition

Teams must apply no later than Feb. 28, 2011. There will be a limited number of teams allowed to compete.

A webcast will be held on Sept. 22, 2010, at 3 p.m. EDT covering details about applying for the competition, the required milestones to compete on-site, and the requirements of the competition. There will be a review of the lessons learned from this past year’s competitors. This webcast is an opportunity for teams, new and old, to discover what ideas worked and what did not. This is your chance to ask your questions and get answers. You may submit questions during the webcast to lunabotics@gmail.com.

In advance of the webcast
– Please visit http://dln.nasa.gov/ and click on the DLiNfo Channel button on the left-hand side.
– Pop-ups must be enabled in your Web browser.
– Please complete the brief usage form.
– A plug-in may be necessary to download, depending on your computer/browser.

For more information about the competition and to apply online, visit http://www.nasa.gov/lunabotics

NASA MICI Seeks Undergrads and Faculty for Sept. 8th Kick-off

The mission of the Minority Innovation Challenges Institute, or MICI, is to create a virtual training ground where minority undergraduate students learn how to compete in NASA technical challenges for both prestige and significant cash prizes. On Sept. 8, 2010, at 2 p.m. EDT, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will deliver a pre-recorded welcome message for the program that includes an inspirational explanation of how he started as an undergraduate student majoring in electrical engineering and built an impressive career path that led to his becoming the twelfth administrator in NASA’s history.

Minority Innovation Challenges Institute

Administrator Bolden’s message will be followed by a live presentation from MICI organizers including Theresa Martinez, NASA MUREP Small Projects manager; Dr. Clement Allen, Florida A&M associate professor for the department of computer information sciences; and Paul Secor, president of Secor Strategies LLC, who is serving as a project coordinator for MICI. These individuals will explain how MICI works and how students and faculty can access this free year-round program that seeks to mentor students to compete in NASA technical challenges. The event will conclude with a question and answer session.

Immediately following the kick-off event will be a live presentation starting at 3 p.m. EDT from Julie Clift at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Clift will explain how students and faculty can get involved in the NASA University Student Launch Initiative. The entire month of September within MICI will be focused on this particular challenge and will feature weekly presentations on the subject.

MICI provides a year-round virtual conference platform where students from across the country can participate in free interactive educational sessions of their choosing. Many of the sessions will focus on competitions found within NASA’s Centennial Challenges program, which provides cash prizes ranging from $50,000 to $2 million. Students also will learn how to compete in other NASA-sponsored competitions created specifically for universities including the Fundamental Aeronautics Student Competition for Colleges/Universities, the NASA University Student Launch Initiative, the University Business Plan Contest for Engineering Technology, and the Great Moonbuggy Race.

Students and faculty are encouraged to register in advance for the Sept. 8, 2010, Academic Year Kick-off Event by visiting http://www.NASAMICI.com