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RUM students advance to the final of a NASA aerospace competition



The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) chose the student chapter of the organization Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), from the Mayagüez Campus (RUM) of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), as one of the 15 teams that will participate in the Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Forum competition.

During this experience, students must present a concept that can be implemented in human space exploration missions on the Moon and the planet Mars.

According to a RUM press release, the students will return to the competition to defend first place last year, when they were first selected to participate.

UPR students will present this year the project “Exploration Multi-Purpose Rover for Expanding Surface Science (EMPRESS)” which contains aspects of robotic vehicles that are exploring the surface of Mars and the “Lunar Roving Vehicle” or “moon buggy “as well as the implementation of other innovative technologies.

In the photo the robotic vehicle that the RUM will present. (Supplied)

Given this, the captain of the collegiate team, Wilbert Andrés Ruperto Hernández, indicated that the achievement obtained is the result of nine months of work and research.

“Each member’s genuine interest and passion in this field allowed them to quickly learn technical concepts from engineering design, planetary geology and astronomy, space mission planning, and cost-risk analysis. We are all very happy and motivated to continue working to refine the details of our concept for the final competition. at the NASA RASC-AL 2020 Forum, which we hope will be held sometime in the summer in Cocoa Beach, Florida, ”he stated.

He added that the team he leads “went beyond the requirements of the competition” because They presented a concept that aims to advance different fields of space and planetary science using specialized scientific instruments.

“Some of our instruments allow the detection of frozen water and other items of importance that can be used in future missions to produce drinking water, air for habitats on the surface and fuel to supply ships that land on the surface,” he explained to the note that the vehicle has cameras that enable high-definition transmission.

He also said that the device has sensors and robotic systems that are used to collect rocks and lunar regolith that would be used for later investigations.

“The vehicle is distinguished by having three modes of operation: autonomous, semi-autonomous and manned. This allows it to be managed by humans from Earth, guided by itself and by astronauts when they are on the Moon. Our concept would be ready to be launched in 2023, a year before the Artemis III manned mission.. In its manned mode, the rover has the capacity to carry up to two astronauts during its six-day stay on the surface beginning in 2024. The importance of our concept is that it would allow astronauts to cover great distances and carry out more scientific activities of the ones that would be carried out without having a vehicle to transport them ”, described Ruperto Hernández.

The collegial group is made up of 34 students who, for the most part, had no experience in space exploration.

For his part, the president of the UPR, Jorge Haddock, congratulated the students and indicated that the team gave “everything for everything” to represent Puerto Rico.

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