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NASA Gears Up for the Regolith Rumble

Posted by Zonk on from the in-this-corner-weighing-in-at-0.34-pounds dept.

eldavojohn writes "NASA is holding another scientific challenge to see which autonomous robot can move the most regolith in 30 minutes. The finer details: 'To win the cash prizes for NASA's Regolith Challenge, teams must demonstrate fully autonomous robots capable of collecting at least 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of mock Moon dirt within 30 minutes. Whichever robot moves the most regolith over the benchmark limit, while still meeting contest specifications, wins, NASA said. But in order to compete, lunar regolith excavators must weigh less than 88 pounds (40 kilograms) and run on less than 30 kilowatts of power, according to contest rules.'"

3 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well, which is it? lb of kg? W or kW? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    the 330 lbs to 150 kg gives you your answer. The contest, as we're all no doubt surprised to learn, is being held on the surface of the Earth. Is there a -1 pedantic moderation option?

  2. Re:Some info missing - how far must rock be moved? by ohmypolarbear · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I would also hope that the spec would have a total energy consumption target (in KWh)
    Giving just a wattage would make sense if they want to make sure that the robot doesn't use energy faster than it can be provided by, for example, a solar array of a certain size.
  3. Re:Well, which is it? lb of kg? W or kW? by The_mad_linguist · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, 30 watts *is* less than 30 kilowatts. The TFS is (technically) correct.