NASA has announced the winners of the 2023 Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) with Escambia High School in Pensacola, Florida, winning first place in the high school division, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, capturing the college and university title. The complete list of award winners are as follows:
High School Division
- First Place: Escambia High School, Pensacola, Florida
- Second Place: Parish Episcopal School, Dallas
- Third Place: Escola Estadual de Ensino Médio Frei Plácido, Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
College/University Division
- First Place: University of Alabama in Huntsville
- Second Place: Owensboro Community and Technical College, Owensboro, Kentucky
- Third Place: Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio
Ingenuity Award
- Tecnológico de Monterrey – Cuernavaca, Xochitepec, Morelos, Mexico
Phoenix Award
- High School Division: East Central High School, Moss Point, Mississippi
- College/University Division: University of South Alabama, Mobile
Task Challenge Award
- High School Division: Academy of Arts, Careers, and Technology, Reno, Nevada
- College/University Division: Owensboro Community and Technical College, Owensboro, Kentucky
Project Review Award
- High School Division: Academy of Arts, Careers, and Technology, Reno, Nevada
- College/University Division: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
Featherweight Award
- Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
Safety Award
- High School Division: McKinley Technology High School, Washington, D.C.
- College/University Division: Texas Tech University, Lubbock
Crash and Burn Award
- Tecnológico de Monterrey – Cuernavaca, Xochitepec, Morelos, Mexico
Jeff Norris and Joe Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award
- High School Division: Liceo Científico Dr. Miguel Canela Lázaro, Salcedo, Hermanas Mirabal Province, Dominican Republic
- College/University Division: Instituto Especializado de Estudios Superiores Loyola. San Cristobal, Dominican Republic
Team Spirit Award
- Tecnológico de Monterrey, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Most Improved Performance Award
- High School Division: Escambia High School, Pensacola, Florida
- College/University Division: Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Social Media Award
- High School Division: Young Tinker Educational Foundation, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
- College/University Division: KIET Group of Institutions, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
STEM Engagement Award
- High School Division: Parish Episcopal School, Dallas
- College/University Division: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Rimac, Peru
The annual engineering competition – one of NASA’s longest standing challenges – held its concluding event Friday, April 21 to Saturday, April 22, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
More than 500 students from around the world participated during HERC’s 29th anniversary competition. Student teams represented 16 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, Peru, and Singapore. Teams were awarded points based on navigating a half-mile obstacle course, conducting mission-specific task challenges, and completing multiple safety and design reviews with NASA engineers.
“Throughout this eight-month-long competition, students learn NASA’s engineering design cycle by submitting detailed reports and passing critical reviews by NASA engineers,” said Kevin McGhaw, director, NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Southeast Region. “By operating within real-world constraints, students gain authentic knowledge to better imagine and develop innovative technologies which could be used in future NASA missions.”
HERC is one of NASA’s eight Artemis Student Challenges reflecting the goals of the Artemis program, which seeks to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon while establishing establish a long-term presence for science and exploration.
NASA uses such challenges to encourage students to pursue degrees and careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“NASA has a vested interest in providing students access to complex engineering challenges,” said Vemitra Alexander, HERC activity lead for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. “Developing a skilled and diverse workforce in STEM is critical to maintaining our nation’s success in scientific research and space exploration.”
HERC is managed by NASA’s Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Marshall. Since its inception in 1994, more than 15,000 students have participated in HERC – with many former students now working at NASA, or within the aerospace industry.
Replays of the competition are available on NASA Marshall YouTube and NASA’s HERC Facebook page.
To learn more about HERC, please visit:
