NASA's 14th Annual Great Moonbuggy Racers Overcome Stormy Weather

NASA's 14th annual Great Moonbuggy Race took place at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama on April 13-14, 2007. Mother Nature tried to drown out this year's Great Moonbuggy Race, but forty-seven high school and college teams from twenty states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Germany raced despite thunder, lightening, and pouring rain.

According to a NASA press release, "The Great Moonbuggy Race" is inspired by the original moonbuggies, or lunar rovers, that were designed, developed, and tested by NASA engineers for Apollo moon missions in the 1970's." NASA's Great Moonbuggy race brings together future engineers and scientists who may be the next generation of explorers traveling to the moon, landing on mars, or designing the spacecraft to get there. Teams of six students use their engineering knowledge to overcome concerns such as weight, size, and versatility. In addition, they utilize math and physics principles during the many months spent designing and building their pedal-powered moonbuggies for the Great Moonbuggy Race. http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov
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James, a team member from Pittsburg State University, said his team of mechanical and plastics engineers took two semesters to design and build their moonbuggy, named "Pitt Thunder." He said function, efficiency and weight restrictions were the team's primary moonbuggy concerns, but making it attractive was also important. His reason surprised me.

"The monnbuggy will stay in the lab longer if it looks nice," James said. "Ugly moonbuggies are quickly torn apart to make new ones!"