Dr. Michael B. Duke

281-244-2036

An undergraduate team from the Colorado School of Mines and a team of graduate students from Georgia Institute of Technology have won first place awards in the HEDS-UP design program at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas. HEDS-UP, which stands for Human Exploration of Space – University Partners, conducts an annual competition in which university student teams conduct studies relevant to future human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and other destinations beyond the International Space Station.

The Colorado School of Mines team won first place among the undergraduate teams with a concept for efficiently excavating soil on Mars as part of a system for extracting water for human use.

Second place was awarded to a team from the University of Maryland, with a concept for the circumnavigation of the Moon’s equator using a manned surface-roving vehicle. Teams from the California Institute of Technology and the Pennsylvania State University shared third place.

The first-place graduate team from Georgia Tech contributed a study on the economics of using propellant derived from lunar ice for space missions.

The reports of 13 teams were presented orally at the HEDS-UP Forum, held at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, May 4-5. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration supports the program, designed to help develop interest in space projects by university students.

The convener of the Forum, Dr. Michael B. Duke of the Lunar and Planetary Institute commented, "We are very pleased with the projects presented at this year’s Forum. The work represents the culmination of a program that involved about 600 students, and the reports show a great deal of originality and dedication by the students."

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