NASA will pay you $1M to design a robot to work on the moon

NASA and the Space Center Houston are seeking designs for autonomous robots that can explore the surface of the moon—and the leading one will win up to $1 million to continue research and discovery.

On Monday, the organizations announced Phase 2 of the NASA Space Robotics Challenge, focused on virtually designing autonomous robotic operations that allow the US to expand its ability to explore space and maintain its technological leadership.  

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The international competition aims to unite people worldwide to further space exploration and scientific research. Phase 1 of the project took place in 2017, and focused specifically on NASA’s Valkyrie robot.  
 
“Everyday explorers now have the opportunity to design useful solutions to support deep space exploration,” Daniel Newmyer, vice president of education at Space Center Houston, said in a press release. “This challenge will continue to advance robotic technology and research that is vital to future missions.”
 
The competition will occur in a completely virtual environment. Participants will use software to develop fully autonomous operations, navigation, and decision-making capabilities, which will be tested on planetary robotic systems in a simulated environment, according to the release. 

Anyone, including independent teams, research organizations, private companies, and science and tech enthusiasts can submit proposals through the NASA Space Robotics Challenge site now through December to win the prize pool of $1 million. A qualification round will take place from March through August 2020, and a competition round will end in 2021, when winners will be decided. 

For more, check out Photos: 60 years of NASA’s technological accomplishments on TechRepublic. 

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