Virginia Catholic school among 2 middle schools in world picked for NASA rover challenge

CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2024 / 06:00 am

A Catholic middle school in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, is one of just two middle schools in the world chosen to compete in a prominent NASA engineering challenge. 

NASA announced earlier this month the teams of students it had picked to participate in this year’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC). Middle schoolers at St. Mary’s Catholic School in the Richmond Diocese were selected to participate; the other is Jesco von Puttkamer School in Leipzig, Germany.

The program “aims to put competitors in the mindset of NASA’s Artemis campaign as they pitch an engineering design for a lunar terrain vehicle which simulates astronauts piloting a vehicle, exploring the lunar surface while overcoming various obstacles,” according to NASA. The Artemis program will in 2026 put human beings back on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. 

All told, students from 35 colleges and universities, 38 high schools, and two middle schools were chosen by NASA; the teams hail from “20 states, Puerto Rico, and 16 other nations from around the world,” NASA said. 

Among the other competitors is Pontifical Catholic University in Lima, Peru, as well as the Catholic University of Bolivia and the Catholic University of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo.

Students at St. Mary's Catholic School in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, pose show off a prototype model for NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Credit: Peter Tlusty

This is the 31st annual HERC program and the first time the challenge has been open to middle schoolers. The program has historically consisted of students crafting full-scale operational mock-ups of rovers; this year, for the first time, NASA introduced a remote-controlled division.

Both middle schools are competing in the remote division, as are several high school and college teams. The remote teams will “work to solve complex scientific tasks with a purpose-built vehicle,” NASA said.

Peter Tlusty, an IB MYP design and technology teacher at the Richmond school, said the 28 students in the program will have to engage in numerous problem-solving and logistical challenges as part of the program in addition to designing the rover itself. 

“They have to come up with a budget. They have to do fundraisings. They have to have a media presence — Facebook and stuff like that,” he said. 

Students will eventually take their rover down to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to test it out on an obstacle course that mimics both the lunar and Martian surfaces. 

Tlusty said the team will rigorously test the rover on a series of makeshift environments in Richmond before traveling to Alabama. 

“We’re going to reach out to a couple of the landscaping places around Richmond and see if they’ll let us bring our rover out to their sand piles,” he said. The team may also seek donations from local landscaping outfits to create a mock-up course on campus. 

A concept drawing of the Human Exploration Rover Challenge rover design at St. Mary's Catholic School in the Diocese of Richmond. Credit: Peter Tlusty

The competition can contribute greatly to a student’s academic success, Tlusty said. 

“One of the first things kids ask is, ‘What do we get if we win?’” Tlusty said with a laugh. “Well, for one, it looks great on your résumé.” 

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“I tell the kids: This puts you a notch above in competitions for scholarships,” he said. “And it looks good on a college application too.”

Tlusty said it’s a considerable distinction to be chosen for the program. 

“Last year the number of HERC applications was a record,” he said. “And this year the applications were up 40%. This is a competitive challenge people apply for.” 

“It’s amazing to be included,” he continued. “When I saw they only picked two middle school teams, I was astonished. It’s quite the honor.”