May 18 2012
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-088 NASA INVITES MEDIA TO ANNUAL LUNABOTICS MINING COMPETITION
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- More than 50 teams of undergraduate and graduate students from eight countries will come to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida May 21-26 to take part in the third annual Lunabotics Mining Competition. Practice sessions will take place May 21-22, followed by the official competition the rest of the week. Media are invited to cover the opening day ceremony and competition on Wednesday, May 23, from noon - 4 p.m. EDT at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. For access to the facility, journalists should contact Andrea Farmer at 321-449-4318 or afarmer@dncinc.com. Requests for interviews with NASA representatives need to be submitted to Tracy Young at 321-867-2468 or tracy.g.young@nasa.gov. The teams have designed and built remote controlled or autonomous robots that can excavate simulated lunar soil. During the competition, the teams' designs, known as lunabots, will go head-to-head to determine whose machine can collect and deposit the most simulated moon dust within a specified amount of time. The competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The project provides a competitive environment that may result in innovative ideas and solutions that potentially could be applied to future NASA missions.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-089 NASA CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST TO ATTEND CLEVELAND MANUFACTURING EVENT
WASHINGTON -- NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck will join agency and Ohio officials to name nine small and medium-sized Ohio manufacturers that will receive NASA assistance to solve technical problems with new or existing products. The news conference will be held Wednesday, May 23, at 11 a.m. EDT at the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) headquarters, 1768 E. 25th St. in Cleveland. The news conference also will feature Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, and NASA's Glenn Research Center Director Ray Lugo. This initiative is part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's "Strong Cities, Strong Communities" effort. The partnership was developed as a local "Adopt a City" program. NASA is committed to providing 400 hours of technical assistance from its science and engineering work force to offer potential solutions to the selected companies for specific technical challenges they are facing with a new or existing product. In addition to access to NASA experts, the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are making $450,000 in low interest rate loans available to the companies to help with costs associated with participation in the program.
