May 12 2007
From The Space Library
Four teams competed at NASA’s Regolith Excavation Challenge to dig a minimum of 150 kilograms (331 pounds) of simulated lunar soil—regolith—within 0.5 hours, using no more than 30 watts of power. However, none of the teams succeeded in winning the US$125,000 first prize. The top performer was the entry from Technology Ranch of Pixmo Beach, California, the only machine to run for a full 30 minutes in its first attempt and to scoop up 75 kilograms (165 pounds) of regolith. The Regolith Excavation Challenge was the seventh centennial challenge NASA had held since 2005. However, the only person who had won any of the competitions was Peter K. Homer, who had won US$200,000 for his entry in the Astronaut Glove Challenge on 3 May. Kenneth Davidian, Program Manager of NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program, stated that NASA would add the unawarded prize money to the winnings for the 2008 Regolith Excavation Challenge, increasing the value of the prize for that competition to US$375,000. Davidian said that he expected the number of teams competing in the challenge would double and that many more NASA engineers would observe the competition in the future.
Dana Mackenzie, “No One Scoops the Prize at Moon Digger Contest,” New Scientist, 14 May 2007.
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