标签: Rover

Oh what horror! As you may know, I currently hang my hat in Huntsville, Alabama, home of the US Space and Rocket Center and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center . I've been told that there are more rocket scientists per square foot in Huntsville than anywhere else in America, and that's saying something. In fact, there's a joke here in town that, if someone says, "Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do that," half the people in the room look disappointed and leave (LOL).   The really exciting news is that registration is now open for next year's NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge , which will be held April 16-18 at the US Space and Rocket Center. This challenge is open to teams from high schools, colleges, and universities from around the world. The challenge involves designing and building a human-powered rover, which reflects NASA's interest in exploring planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.   Each student team will comprise six members. Two members of each team (one male and one female) will power their team's rover over a half-mile obstacle course that simulates an extraterrestrial terrain, including craters, boulders, ridges, inclines, and crevasses.   (Image: NASA)   A few days ago, I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet up with Human Exploration Rover Challenge project manager Diedra Williams, volunteer coordinator and education program specialist Amy McDowell, and university affairs officer (and all-around technical guru) Dr. Frank Six. This meeting was kindly organized and coordinated by Angela Storey, public affairs officer for the Rover Challenge competition.   As you will see from the Rover Challenge website, there are all sorts of interesting technical restrictions. For example, the entire rover must be capable of being packed into a 5x5x5-foot cubic crate. Also, no energy storage components are permitted -- everything must be human powered.   This is actually a huge undertaking. Based on previous challenges, the organizers expect up to 100 teams to register. (Registration closes Jan. 9 for international teams and Feb. 6 for US teams.) In addition to the 600 students and their parents/supervisors, the race itself is staffed by more than 300 volunteers, including employees from the Marshall Space Flight Center, representatives from sponsoring companies, and members of the community.   There's also a "pit crew" staffed by 50 technicians and engineers -- accompanied by just about every tool available, including welding equipment -- who are on hand to help the students fix any problems with their rovers. These experts don't actually do the work; instead, they teach the students how to do it themselves.   This all sounds tremendously exciting. I cannot tell you just how much I would have loved to have taken part in something like this challenge when I was at high school or at university.   In our meeting, the folks from NASA were telling me some of the interesting things that have happened in previous challenges, and how the course is constantly evolving to include new trials. There will be a big emphasis on creating a Mars-like environment for the forthcoming challenge. Also, the 2015 course will include new obstacles, including a five-foot climb, which is a lot harder than you might expect when you are powering one of these rovers.   In addition to teams from all over America, the folks at NASA were bragging about the participants they've had from around the globe in previous challenges. They were reeling off the names of countries like Russia, Canada, India, Romania, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Germany, and even France, for goodness sake.   Eventually, they ran dry without mentioning my home country. "What about England?" I asked, with only a little quaver in my voice. They all looked sad, and then someone said in a doleful voice, "I'm afraid that no team from the United Kingdom has ever taken part."   Well, this was a blow, and no mistake. I mean to say, it's a sad state of affairs when a country like France is represented on the international stage while England is nowhere to be seen. I cannot believe my ears. I hang my head in shame. It's probably too late for an English school or university to create a vehicle and field a team for the 2015 Rover Challenge, but -- as the folks from NASA pointed out -- anyone can come over to observe and report back to home base in anticipation of attending a future challenge.   Speaking of which, I'm going to make it my personal mission to ensure England is represented in the 2016 Rover Challenge. Yes, of course, I'd also be happy to see contenders from the rest of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, but I'm only one man, and I can only do so much, so I'm afraid I will have to focus my attentions on England for the moment. So long as we trounce the French, I can die a happy man (LOL).   In particular, I'm hoping to persuade my alma mater, Sheffield Hallam University, to field a team. I'm planning on contacting my old engineering department as soon as I can. Perhaps I can even persuade some UK space-related companies to sponsor the "Max's Marauders" team (don't worry, this name is just a place-holder). Ooh, just a moment, my chum Adam Taylor is head of the Engineering -- Systems for the Space Stream -- High Performance Imaging Solution Division at e2v . Some of the imaging systems on the Rosetta space probe were created by e2v. I wonder.   Adam... incoming!