Queen’s University students blast off to US for Nasa robotics competition
Queen's University Belfast is sending a 10-student team to Florida later this month to compete in NASA's Lunabotics competition, an international championship for university teams to design and operate robots for lunar exploration. The competition requires teams to use NASA's systems engineering process to create robots capable of autonomously digging up lunar material, navigating obstacles, and constructing structures to support future human missions on the Moon.
The team's 52kg aluminium rover must independently excavate simulated lunar sand and deposit it elsewhere, with the software and mechanical teams having tested the design extensively before competing. At the University of Central Florida, the Queen's team will face rivals from Australia, India, and the United States. Notably, the Belfast students are the only European team competing, having earned their place by winning the UK competition earlier this year.
- Queen's University Belfast team selected for NASA's international Lunabotics competition in Florida
- Their 52kg robot must autonomously excavate and transport simulated lunar material
- Only European team competing against rivals from Australia, India and the US
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NASA's Lunabotics competition is an international robotics championship where university teams design and build robots capable of exploring the lunar surface. Teams must use NASA's engineering processes to create machines that can autonomously excavate lunar soil, navigate obstacles, and construct structures to support future human missions on the Moon.
Queen's University Belfast qualified for the competition by winning the UK round earlier this year and will be the only European team competing. The team has engineered a 52 kilogramme aluminium rover with independent software and mechanical systems capable of completing the competition's tasks. At the event in Florida, they will face teams from Australia, India, and universities across the United States.
Lunabotics competitions attract top engineering talent from universities worldwide and test real-world problem-solving relevant to space exploration. For Queen's, the competition represents a major opportunity to measure their robotics expertise against leading international teams.