A team of students from Washoe County School District's Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology returned home victorious after competing in the second annual NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge. The competition was held April 17-18, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Reno students' team and their sophisticated rover vehicle finished third in the High School Division - Obstacle Course, presented for posting the fastest vehicle assembly and race times in their division, with the fewest on-course penalties. The Reno team also won the System Safety Award for the high school team exemplifying the best safety practices.

Participants included 95 student teams from high schools, colleges and universities across 18 states and Puerto Rico as well as international teams from Germany, India, Mexico and Russia. Reno's third-place finish clocked them in as the fastest high school team from the continental U.S.   

Supported in part by Nevada NASA Space Grant Consortium (NVSGC), the Reno rover team is a partnership between the school district's Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology (AACT), and Fleischmann Planetarium at the University of Nevada, Reno. University faculty worked with teachers and administrators from AACT to develop the program, which engages students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through hands-on experiences. The program also trains teachers and College of Education students in career and technical education, along with studying the impact on student attitudes and academic performance. 

"We're so proud of these kids, and the awards this year build on our award-winning tradition over the past five years of participation," Dan Ruby, director of Fleischmann Planetarium and team advisor, said. "It was also great to learn ours was the fastest team from the continental United States. The event is exciting, but it's also such an important way to support students' exposure to future opportunities in the STEM disciplines."

Advised by their teachers, nearly 25 students from each of the academies at AACT worked on components of the rover in class. More than 10 students worked additional extracurricular hours to fabricate the high-tech vehicle. A team of 10 students was selected through an application process to travel to Huntsville for the 2015 NASA Rover Challenge.

This year's NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge is an evolution of NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race that has been held for 20 years at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. The new focus of the program is a shift toward a research-and-development project. The event challenges students to design, build and race light-weight, human-powered rovers to address unique conditions of space exploration. The major technology challenge for this year's NASA event was to design airless wheels that could function on the surfaces of the Moon, Mars and beyond. 

"Our Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology/University of Nevada, Reno Rover Program was developed to engage students and teachers in STEM through hands-on experience and team design and fabrication of a vehicle to participate in the NASA challenge," Ruby, who helped develop the program in collaboration with Dana Ryan, director of career and technical education with the Washoe County School District, said, "This is the fifth year of our Reno program and 24 students from each of AACT's academies worked on the rover in class through an integrated curriculum."

At the NASA event, 95 rover teams raced on a course strewn with obstacles to simulate lunar terrain. Reno's team completed the competition's difficult half-mile course in 5 minutes, 19 seconds, including a vehicle assembly time of 4 seconds. The Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology/University of Nevada, Reno Rover Team is building on its award-winning five-year history of achievements in the NASA competitions, including placing among the top 10 each year: 

2011: Rookie Award for fastest time by a new team
2012: Featherweight Award for lightest vehicle to complete the course in under 8 minutes (high school division)
2013: Neil Armstrong Award for Best Design (high school division)
2014: Neil Armstrong Award for Best Design and First Place, Obstacle Course (high school division)

The Reno students received a $250 prize for winning the 2015 System Safety Award, which will go toward funding their participation in next year's Rover Challenge. Their rover will also be on display at Fleischmann Planetarium on the University campus from June to August 2015, accompanied by an exhibit about the vehicle and the race experience.

"We're excited about the recognition of these high school students' achievements and we hope it's not just an experience of a lifetime, but the first of many future successes in their careers in science, technology, engineering and math," Ruby said.

To follow Reno's AACT Rover Project in Facebook, visit https://www.facebook.com/TheAACTRover
For more about NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge, visit www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge .
For information about the Nevada NASA Space Grant Consortium (NVSGC), visit www.nvspacegrant.org .

For more information about the planetarium and its involvement in the NASA program, call (775) 784-4812 or visit www.planetarium.unr.edu.