The University Magazine

Sky’s the limit for RIT moonbuggy team

Jacqueline Hill, a second-year biochemistry major, left, and Ben Strohman, a fifth-year mechanical engineering technology major, maneuver the RIT Human-Powered Vehicle. (Photo by D. Higginbotham, NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

RIT’s Human-Powered Vehicle Team rolled to a first-place finish in the 14th annual Great Moonbuggy Race in April at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. The six-member student team finished in four minutes and 38 seconds to earn the top spot in the college division of the NASA-sponsored contest. The victory was RIT’s first in eight trips to the competition. Twenty-two teams from the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada built two-passenger vehicles designed to withstand a half-mile simulated lunar-terrain course.

For more about the contest, which was also sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corp., visit http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov.