NASA has announced the selection of fourteen undergraduate and graduate teams from universities across the United States to participate in the 2024 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition. This challenge has become a cornerstone for NASA’s efforts to involve students in the innovation process to advance our capabilities for lunar, Martian, and further deep space operations.
The 2024 RASC-AL finalist teams are comprised of the following groups:
AI-Powered Self-Replicating Probe Theme:
- Clarkson University in collaboration with Khalifa University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
- AUTONOMY: Augmented Unmanned Technology Operating in Navigating Objects of Mining Yield
- Advisors: Dr. Michael Bazzocchi, Dr. Roberto Sabatini, Dr. Alessandro Gardi, Dr. Anna Bourmistrova
- Stanford University partnered with the University of Waterloo
- Modular Self-Assembling Robotic Architecture (MARA)
- Advisors: Prof. Anton Ermakov, Prof. William Melek
- University of Texas, Austin
- AETHER: Autonomous Exploration Through Extraterrestrial Regions
- Advisor: Prof. Adam Nokes
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Advisor: Dr. Kevin Shinpaugh
Large-Scale Lunar Crater Prospector Theme:
- South Dakota State University
- POSEID-N: Prospecting Observation System for Exploration, Investigation, Discovery, and Navigation
- Advisor: Dr. Todd Letcher
- S.P.I.D.E.R: South Pole Ice Drilling and Exploration Rover
- Advisors: Dr. Matt Barrios
- SITIS: Subsurface Ice and Terrain In-situ Surveyor
- Advisor: Dr. David Akin
- University of Texas, Austin
- VENOM: Volatile Examining luNar prOspectors and Mothership
- Advisor: Prof. Adam Nokes
Long-Duration Mars Simulation at the Moon Theme:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with partners from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Lausanne (ISAE) and National Higher French Institute of Aeronautics and Space (EPFL)
- MARTEMIS: Mars Architecture Research using Taguchi Experiments on the Moon with International Solidarity
- Advisors: Prof. Jeffrey Hoffman and a team of international experts
- Moon-2-Mars
- Advisors: Dr. David Akin, Charles Hanner
Sustained Lunar Evolution Theme:
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in partnership with Barrios Technology
- THEIA: Trans-lunar Hub for Exploration, ISRU, and Advancement
- Advisors: Dr. Victoria Coverstone, Dr. Robyn Woollands, Alec Auster
- TILE: Terrapin Infrastructure for Lunar Evolution
- Advisors: Dr. Jarred Young, Christopher Kingsley
- University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
- POLARIS: Permanent-Outpost Lunar Architecture for Research and Innovative Services
- Advisors: Dr. Bárbara Calcagno, Dr. Gustavo Gutiérrez
Submissions for the 2024 event included a two-minute video and a comprehensive seven-to-nine-page proposal on one of four innovative themes that are critical to NASA’s extraterrestrial endeavors.
Patrick Troutman, the RASC-AL sponsor, and Dr. Christopher Jones, Chief Technologist at Langley and RASC-AL sponsor and judge, praised the high quality of the proposals and the difficulties in selecting finalists due to the compelling nature of all submitted projects.
The finalists will each receive a $6,500 stipend to develop and present their project concepts at the RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, where a panel of NASA and industry experts will assess them. Winners will have the opportunity to present their work at the AIAA’s 2024 ASCEND Conference.
RASC-AL is supported by NASA’s Strategies and Architectures Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, the Space Mission Analysis Branch within the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at Langley, and is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace. More information can be found at https://rascal.nianet.org.
FAQs About The 2024 RASC-AL Competition
What is the RASC-AL competition?
The Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage, or RASC-AL, is a long-standing NASA competition that invites university-level students to design concepts that could contribute to NASA’s space exploration missions.
How are teams selected as finalists for the competition?
Teams are selected based on their proposals, which must include a detailed technical paper and a short video addressing one of the competition’s themes. A committee of NASA and industry experts reviews the submissions to choose the finalists.
What do teams win if they are successful at the forum?
Winning teams are invited to present their designs at industry conferences, such as AIAA’s ASCEND Conference, providing significant exposure to the aerospace community. They also benefit from the real-world experience of developing proposals and presenting them to NASA and industry leaders.
Who sponsors the RASC-AL competition?
RASC-AL is sponsored by the Strategies and Architectures Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters and the Space Mission Analysis Branch within the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at Langley.
When and where is the RASC-AL Forum held?
The RASC-AL Forum is typically held in June at Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Conclusion
The RASC-AL competition exemplifies NASA’s commitment to fostering innovation and providing real-world experiences to engineering students. By addressing the pressing challenges of space exploration, these university teams not only contribute to NASA’s mission but also prepare themselves for careers that have the potential to shape the future of humankind’s presence in space.