Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

No Winner In NASA's Moon-Dirt Digging Competition

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the not-even-close-and-still-no-cigar dept.

Engadget is reporting that NASA's recent moon-dirt digging competition has concluded without a winner being named. "The excavator built by Technology Ranch was able to notch first place by relocating just over 143-pounds in 30 minutes, but fell quite short on picking up any award monies. So for those of you who weren't exactly ready to go mano-a-mano with these guys and gals this time around, next year you've all got $750,000 on the line."

4 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. Better Link by eldavojohn · · Score: 4, Informative

    A better link with no subscription required.

    It should be noted that this is the sixth of seven Centennial Challenges to go unawarded since 2005 by NASA. They have strict contests because they actually intend to implement the winner's idea. 150 kgs on 30 Watts? Good luck, nobody should be ashamed not to hit that mark!

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Better Link by LurkerXXX · · Score: 4, Informative

      The time limit to move the 150kg was 30 minutes. You already knew about the 30 watt limit. Calculate away.

    2. Re:Better Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      It was 30Kw IIRC
      According to the competition page, it is 30 Watts, not 30 Kilowatts:

      • Each team's excavation system must be fully autonomous
      • Systems will perform in a square sandbox filled with compressed lunar regolith simulant.
      • Mass of the system cannot exceed 40 kilograms.
      • 30 Watts of DC power will be provided to the system.
      • Each system will have 30 minutes to excavate as much regolith as possible and deliver it to a fixed collector adjacent to the sandbox.
      • The total purse of $250,000 will go to the winning teams excavating the most regolith above 150 kilograms.
    3. Re:Better Link by Mr.+Sketch · · Score: 3, Informative

      If they listed some kind of time constraint, as well as what type of distance the dirt was being moved... The articles seem to make it sound like there is a 30 minute time limit. As for the distance, it looks like the machines only lift it out of the ground into a collection bin close by (you can probably assume a meter or two).

      If we assume a 30 minute time limit, we could move 150kg on the moon (with gravity of 1.6m/s^2), a max of 225m high, on earth it would be a max of 36.7m high. Of course, that is with 100% efficiency. This could obviously be moved a lot further horizontally and the numbers will probably have to be cut in half since we would only be carrying a load for half the time (the other half would be going back to dig).

      In any event, the 30W limitation is quite reasonable, assuming the 30 minute time limit and that it doesn't have to be moved too far.
      --
      Things you think are in the Constitution, but are not.