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Artemis Generation Shines During NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge 

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A team from Iowa accepts its Artemis grand prize award during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
A team from Iowa accepts the Artemis grand prize award during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail
Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail

Members of the Artemis Generation kicked up some simulated lunar dust as part of NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge, held at The Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. When the dust settled, two teams emerged from Artemis Arena as the grand prize winners of this year’s competition. 

Teams from Iowa State University and the University of Alabama shared the Artemis grand prize award for scoring the most cumulative points during the annual competition. Judges scored competing teams on project management plans, presentations and demonstrations, systems engineering papers, robotic berm building, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement.  

This is the first time in Lunabotics’ 15-year history that the competition ended in a tie for the top prize, and most likely the last time.  

“Both teams earned their win, but a tie was never on the table,” said Rich Johanboeke, project manager at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “These students work hard and sacrifice much throughout the year to be a part of this challenge and to come to Kennedy, so our team will look into creating a tie-breaking event for future events.” 

Alabama's team lead, Ben Gulledge, is pictured with the team’s winning rover during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
Alabama’s team lead, Ben Gulledge, is pictured with the team’s winning rover during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail

While previous Lunabotics competitions focused on lunar mining, this year’s competition reflected the current needs of NASA’s Artemis missions. Teams designed, built, and operated autonomous robotic rovers capable of building a berm structure from lunar regolith. Among other uses, berms on the Moon could provide protection against blast and material ejected during lunar landings and launches, shade cryogenic propellant tank farms, or shield a nuclear power plant from space radiation. 

Of the 58 college teams across the country that applied to the challenge, 42 were invited to demonstrate their robotic rovers during the qualifying round held in the Exolith Lab at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. From there, 10 finalist teams made the short trip to Kennedy for the two-day final round, where their robots attempted to construct berms from simulated lunar regolith inside Artemis Arena.  

“During the competition we had over 150 berm construction runs in the arena,” said Robert Mueller, senior technologist for Advanced Products Development in NASA’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs Directorate, as well as lead judge and co-founder of the original Lunabotics robotic mining challenge. “So, teams went into the arena 150 times and created berms – that’s pretty impressive. And 28 teams, which is 65% of the teams that attended, achieved berm construction points, which is the highest we have ever had. That speaks to the quality of this competition.”  

Teams competing in this year’s Lunabotics applied the NASA Systems Engineering Process to create their prototype robots and spent upwards of nine months focused on making their designs realities.  

“We really put a lot of work in this year,” said Vivian Molina Sunda, team and electrical lead for University of Illinois at Chicago. “Our team of 10 put in about 3,400 hours, so it’s really exciting to get to Kennedy Space Center and know we made the top 10.”  

The University of Illinois team received two awards for its efforts – the Mission Control “Failure is Not an Option” Award for Team Persistence and the Innovation Technology Award for best design based on creative construction, innovative technology, and overall architecture. 

Lunabotics teams prepare robots for competition inside the Artemis Arena during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
Lunabotics teams prepare robots to compete inside the Artemis Arena during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail

For the hundreds of Artemis Generation members who took part in this year’s competition, Lunabotics was an opportunity to connect to NASA’s mission, work, and people, while also using classroom skills and theories in ways that will benefit them in future STEM careers.  

“We go into engineering because we want to do stuff, we want to make things,” said Ben Gulledge, team and mechanical lead for the University of Alabama’s Artemis grand prize co-winning team. “This competition gives you the opportunity to take all your classroom theory and put it into practice and learn where your gaps in knowledge are. So, you learn to be a better designer and learn where you can improve in the future.” 

Coordinated by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, the Lunabotics competition is one of NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges, designed to engage and retain students in STEM fields. These challenges are designed to provide students with opportunities to research and design in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math, while fostering innovative ideas and solutions to challenges likely to be faced during the agency’s Artemis missions.  

To view the complete list of NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge winners, or for more information visit:  

https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/lunabotics-challenge/

Winners List 
 

Artemis Grand Prize 

Iowa State University, The University of Alabama 

Robotic Construction Award  

First Place – Iowa State University  

Second Place – The University of Alabama  

Third Place – University of Utah  

Systems Engineering Paper Award 
First Place – College of DuPage 
Second Place – The University of Alabama 
Third Place – Purdue University-Main Campus 

Leaps and Bounds Award 
New York University 

Nova Award for Stellar Systems Engineering by a First Year Team 

Ohio State University 

STEM Engagement Award 
First Place – University of North Florida 
Second Place – Auburn University 
Third Place – Iowa State University 

Honorable Mention – Harrisburg University of Science and Technology 

Presentation and Demonstration 
First Place – University of North Carolina at Charlotte 
Second Place – Purdue University-Main Campus 
Third Place – University of Utah 

First Steps Award – Best Presentation by a First Year Team  

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology 

Innovation Technology Award 

University of Illinois at Chicago  

The Mission Control “Failure is Not an Option” Award for Team Persistence 

University of Illinois at Chicago 

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      Use an array of vortex generators that can be adjusted throughout flight to increase wing efficiency
      Student Team: Michael Gamarnik (Team Lead), Shiva Khanna Yamamoto, Noah Mammen, Tommy Schrager, Bethe Newgent
      Faculty Mentor: Kelly Griendling
      Selected: 2020
      Go to AVIS team site

      A recorded USRC Tech Talk on AVIS

      The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021

      NASA Web Article
      Hybrid Airplanes – An Optimum and Modular Approach (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo)
      Model and test powertrain to maximize the efficiency of hybrid airplanes
      Student Team: Nicholas Ogden (Team Lead), Joseph Shy, Brandon Bartlett, Ryker Bullis, Chino Cruz, Sara Entezar, Aaron Li, Zach Yamauchi
      Faculty Mentor: Paulo Iscold
      Selected: 2019
      A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic

      The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
      ATLAS Air Transportation (South Dakota State University)
      A multipurpose, automated drone capable of comfortably lifting the weight of an average person
      Student Team: Isaac Smithee (Team Lead), Wade Olson, Nicolas Runge, Ryan Twedt, Anthony Bachmeier, Matthew Berg, Sterling Berg
      Faculty Mentors: Marco Ciarcia, Todd Letcher
      Selected: 2019
      A recorded USRC Tech Talk #1 and USRC Tech Talk #2 on ATLAS

      The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
      Software-Defined GPS Augmentation Network for UAS Navigation (University Of Oklahoma, Norman)
      A novel solution of enhanced GPS navigation for unmanned aerial vehicles
      Student Team: Robert Rucker (Team Lead), Alex Zhang, Jakob Fusselman, Matthew GilliamMentors: Dr. Yan (Rockee) Zhang (Faculty Mentor), Dr Hernan Suarez (Team Technical Mentor)
      Faculty Mentors: Marco Ciarcia, Todd Letcher
      Selected: 2019
      Crowdfunding Website

      A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic

      The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
      UAV Traffic Information Exchange Network (Purdue University)
      A blockchain-inspired secure, scalable, distributed, and efficient communication framework to support large scale UAV operations
      Student Team: Hsun Chao (Team Lead) and Apoorv Maheshwari
      Faculty Mentors: Daniel DeLaurentis (Faculty Mentor), Shashank Tamaskar
      Selected: 2018
      Web Article: “Student-developed communication network for UAVs interests NASA“
      The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
      University Student Research Challenge
      University Leadership Initiative
      University Innovation Project
      Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program
      Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASAes @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More
      4 min read NASA University Research Program Makes First Award to a Community College Project
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      Last Updated Apr 03, 2025 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related Terms
      University Student Research Challenge View the full article
    • NASA
      Artemis II Insignia Honors All
      By NASA
      Robert Markowitz The four astronauts who will be the first to fly to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign have designed an emblem to represent their mission that references both their distant destination and the home they will return to. The crew unveiled their patch in this April 2, 2025, photo.
      The crew explained the patch’s symbolism, and its play on the abbreviation of Artemis II to AII, with the following description: The Artemis II test flight begins when a mighty team launches the first crew of the Artemis generation. This patch designates the mission as “AII,” signifying not only the second major flight of the Artemis campaign, but also an endeavor of discovery that seeks to explore for all and by all. Framed in Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise photo, the scene of the Earth and the Moon represents the dual nature of human spaceflight, both equally compelling: The Moon represents our exploration destination, focused on discovery of the unknown. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human. The orbit around Earth highlights the ongoing exploration missions that have enabled Artemis to set sights on a long-term presence on the Moon and soon, Mars.
      Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will venture around the Moon in 2026 on Artemis II. The 10-day flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
      Text credit: Brandi Dean, Courtney Beasley
      Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
      View the full article
    • NASA
      NASA’s Artemis II Mission Patch Just Launched
      By NASA
      NASA’s Artemis II Mission Patch Just Launched

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