For Release: April 1, 1999

Jerry Berg
Media Relations Office
(256) 544-0034
Jerry.Berg@msfc.nasa.gov
/centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/

RELEASE: 99-056

Marshall Center's 6^th Great Moonbuggy Race
To Test Students' Engineering Skills

Almost 30 years ago, the first lunar roving vehicle was designed and tested at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for its Apollo 15 mission to the moon. Huntsville will again be the proving ground for "moon buggies" Saturday, April 17, when 32 teams of high school and college students gather to compete in the Sixth Annual Great Moonbuggy Race. The day-long competition begins at 8:30 a.m. at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

The race challenges students to design and build a human-powered, test-model vehicle to address engineering problems similar to those faced by the original Marshall Center lunar rover team.

Each vehicle must carry two team members, one male and one female, over a half-mile simulated moonscape obstacle course, complete with lava ridges, craters, rocks and lunar soil.

Prior to the race, the unassembled vehicle must be carried 20 feet by its crew to the starting line and can occupy no more than a 4-by 4- by 4-foot space, mimicking the space limitations encountered on lunar missions.

Prizes are awarded for quickest speed in assembly and navigating the obstacle course, and for design and originality of concept.

The entrants represent seven high schools and 16 universities, spanning the United States, including Puerto Rico. Competing teams are from Arizona State University in Tempe; Cameron University in Lawton, Okla.; Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne; North Dakota State University in Fargo; Ozarks Technical College in Springfield, Mo.; Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan.; Purdue University in Indianapolis, Ind.; South Carolina State University in Orangeburg; Southern Illinois University in Carbondale; Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield; College of New Jersey in Ewing; University of California in Santa Barbara; University of Evansville in Evansville, Ind.; University of Puerto Rico in Humacao; University of South Alabama in Mobile; and University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

High school teams will represent Autauga County Technology Center in Prattville, Ala.; Decatur Heritage Christian Academy in Decatur, Ala.; Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif.; Graff Career Center in Springfield, Mo.; Monterey High School in Monterey, La.; Norwood High School in Norwood, Ohio; and Spring Valley High School in Columbia, S.C.

General admission to the Space & Rocket Center on the day of the event includes admission to the moonbuggy race.

NOTE TO EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: Photos from last year's race are available to accompany this release, and may be viewed or downloaded at /centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/news/photos/1998/photos98-050.htm

For more information, to schedule interviews or to request photos or video, contact Jerry Berg, of Marshall's Media Relations Office at (256) 544-0034. Marshall will issue a race results news release and post photos to the newsroom website at the conclusion of the race April 17. Visit Marshall News on the Web at: /centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/