ScienceDaily (Mar. 1, 2000) — More than 40 teams, representing colleges and high schools from across the country and Puerto Rico, will roll into Huntsville, Ala., April 7-8 for the 7th annual Great Moonbuggy Race at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

The race is inspired by development of the first lunar roving vehicle, which was designed and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The event challenges students to design and build a human-powered vehicle to address engineering problems similar to those faced by the original Marshall Center lunar rover team.

For instance, prior to the race the unassembled vehicle must occupy a space no more than 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 4 feet long. During the race, each vehicle is powered by two team members, one male and one female, over a half-mile obstacle course of simulated moonscape terrain.

Winners in each category – high school and college – are determined by the fastest vehicle assembly time plus time through the course. An additional prize is awarded to the team with the best technical approach to solving the engineering problem of navigating the “lunar” surface.

The event is sponsored by the Marshall Center, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Event details, including the rules, information on the course and photos, can be found at the Great Moonbuggy Race Web site at:

http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov

Individuals with questions about the event may phone Frank Brannon, the Marshall Center’s university relations coordinator, at (256) 544-5920, or e-mail him at Frank.Brannon@msfc.nasa.gov.

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Note to Editors/News Directors: Photos and video from last year’s race are available to accompany this release. To request those products or to schedule interviews, media representatives may contact Jerry Berg of the Marshall Media Relations Department at (256) 544-0034. Media who want to cover this year’s event should also contact Jerry Berg.

Members of the media: To receive Marshall releases by e-mail instead of fax, please e-mail judy.pettus@msfc.nasa.gov. Include the name of your media outlet, your title, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and the headline of this news release.

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