Oct 19 2009
From The Space Library
NASA announced that three teams out of a field of 19 had claimed a total of US$750,000 in prizes at the 2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge on 18 October, marking the first time that any team in the competition’s three-year history had qualified for a cash prize. NASA required the competitors to use mobile, robotic digging machines to excavate a minimum of 330 pounds (149 kilograms) of regolith, or simulated Moon dirt, and to deposit the regolith into a container within 30 minutes. NASA had further stipulated that the vehicles must contain their own power source and weigh no more than 176 pounds (79.8 kilograms). Paul’s Robotics of Worcester, Massachusetts, had earned first place and US$500,000, for excavating 1,103 pounds (500 kilograms) of regolith within the allotted time of 30 minutes. Three-time returning competitor Terra Engineering of Gardena, California, had won second place and US$150,000 for excavating 595 pounds (270 kilograms) of regolith, and first-time competitor Team Braundo of Rancho Palos Verde, California, had earned third place and US$100,000 for excavating 580 pounds (263 kilograms) of regolith.
NASA, “Teams Win at NASA National Lunar Robotics Competition,” news release 09-245, 19 October 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/oct/HQ_09-245_Regolith_winners.html (accessed 30 September 2011).
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