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Fourteen undergraduate and graduate teams from across the country were selected as finalists to compete in one of NASA\u2019s longest running student challenges \u2014 the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts \u2013 Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition. The competition fuels innovation and challenges undergraduate and graduate teams to develop new concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars and beyond. Finalists will travel to Cocoa Beach, Florida next June to present their proposed concepts to a panel of NASA and aerospace industry leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 2024 finalist teams are:\u00a0<\/p>\n
AI-Powered Self-Replicating Probe Theme:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Large-Scale Lunar Crater Prospector Theme:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Long-Duration Mars Simulation at the Moon Theme:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Sustained Lunar Evolution Theme:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n For the 2024 competition, teams were asked to submit a two-minute video and detailed seven-to-nine-page proposal addressing one of four themes<\/a> related to leveraging innovation to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars and beyond. They included: Long-Duration Mars Simulation at the Moon, Sustained Lunar Evolution, AI-Powered Self-Replicating Probes \u2013 an Evolutionary Approach, and Large-Scale Lunar Crater Prospector<\/strong>. A steering committee of NASA personnel and industry experts selected the finalists based on a review of competitive proposals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEach year we come up with themes for the competition that NASA and the aerospace industry are invested in, because these are real challenges that we are facing, and every year we are impressed with the proposals we receive,\u201d said Patrick Troutman, RASC-AL sponsor and lead for human exploration strategic assessments at NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. \u201cWe heard a lot of great ideas from the university community this year, but these 14 finalists really raised the bar and impressed us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n RASC-AL projects allow university students to incorporate their coursework into space exploration objectives in a team environment and help bridge strategic knowledge gaps associated with NASA\u2019s vision. The competition emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary teams. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s never an easy decision when it comes to choosing finalists, because we love working with university students across the board and appreciate how passionate they all are about aerospace, but these fourteen teams really went above and beyond in their approaches and we look forward to hearing more from them at the forum, \u201d said Dr. Christopher Jones, Chief Technologist for the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at Langley, and RASC-AL sponsor and judge. \u00a0<\/p>\n For 2024, each finalist team receives a $6,500 stipend to further develop and present their concept at the RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, where they will present their findings to a judging panel of NASA and industry experts. The teams with the top two winning papers will be invited to present their design projects to industry experts at AIAA\u2019s 2024 ASCEND Conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n RASC-AL is sponsored by the Strategies and Architectures Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate<\/a> at NASA Headquarters, and by the Space Mission Analysis Branch within the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at Langley. It is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n For more information about the RASC-AL competition, including complete theme and submission guidelines, visit:\u00a0\n
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https:\/\/rascal.nianet.org<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n