The NASA Lunabotics competition, previously known as the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, is an annual competition hosted by NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams build robots that mine in a simulated Lunar environment, where the floor of the arena consists of gravel covered by a layer of packed lunar regolith simulant. Robots are tasked with crossing the arena while avoiding obstacles, gathering lunar regolith, and depositing the regolith to build a berm. Teams are scored based on the size of the berm built during the run, as well as other factors like dust protection, power usage, weight, and level of autonomy. The Lunar simulation brings unique challenges, including the drive team being isolated from the arena and Earth-dependent sensors like GPS being banned.
Major agenda items for the Fall 2024/Spring 2025 year include:
Mechanical
- Design and manufacture a new drive train system
- Perform stress testing on every part preemptively
- Redesign the digging and offloading system
Software
- Stabilize point cloud collection algorithms for a better map
- Design more consistent code to handle drift in motors
- Tie in autonomous navigation with other procedures for a fully autonomous routine
Electrical
- Identify potential sources of shorting preemptively
- Test electrical components regularly and with every major change
- Arrange and label wiring neatly and modularly
See the Team Calendar page for meeting dates and times, talk to us on Discord, or email us any questions at [email protected].