University Students Win NASA/NIA Moon Design Competition

HAMPTON, Va., June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Orbiting "gas" stations and
flying "sports cars" ... those are some winning ideas college students came up
with to help astronauts get to the moon and explore the surface.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090616/DC33420)
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)

Students from Georgia Tech, North Carolina State University, and the
University of Maryland took first place honors in the 2009 Revolutionary
Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage or RASC-AL contest sponsored by
NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA). They presented their work
at a forum in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

The competition challenged teams competing in separate graduate and
undergraduate divisions to consider conditions astronauts will face when
humans return to the Moon, and then design projects that could become part of
real lunar exploration.

"Contests like RASC-AL expose students to the real technical challenges that
they as young engineers may face as we go back to the Moon for the first time
in 40 years," said Pat Troutman, senior systems analyst at NASA's Langley
Research Center. "From the work we've seen, these students are up to the
challenge."

In the graduate division a team of Georgia Tech and North Carolina State
University students studying at NIA won first place for their project titled,
"Reusable Lunar Transportation Architecture Utilizing Orbital Propellant
Depots." Team members included Georgia Tech students Erik Axdahl, Patrick
Chai, Robert Rowland, Michael Grimes and Matthew Long; and John Gaebler and
Rafael Lugo from NC State. The team's advisor was professor Alan Wilhite of
Georgia Tech.

First place for the undergraduate division went to the University of Maryland
for their project called, "Project ASHLAIN: A Lunar Flying Vehicle for Rapid
Universal Surface Access." Team members present at the forum included Nicholas
D'Amore, Adam Halperin, Alex Janas, Breanne McNerney and Nitin Sydney. They
were advised by professors Dave Akin and Mary Bowden.

Second place honors went to the University of Maryland in the graduate
division and to a North Carolina State University team in the undergraduate
division.

An independent panel of space exploration experts drawn from NASA, industry
and the academic community judged the entries. Teams scored points based on
their final paper, oral presentations, outreach service, and technicality and
real-life concepts of the project.

Over the course of the forum, students toured NASA's Kennedy Space Center,
listened in on their peers' oral presentations and had the opportunity to
network with one another and industry experts during the poster session and
planned activities.

"Through the interaction with professionals during the RASC-AL Forum, students
received practical feedback on their concepts," said Dr. Bernard Grossman,
NIA's vice president for education and outreach. "As a result, they are better
prepared to join the aerospace workforce."

For more information about the 2009 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts
Academic Linkage competition and to see photos, please go to:

http://www.nianet.org/rascal

For additional information about NASA, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov

For additional information about the National Institute of Aerospace, visit:
http://www.nianet.org

SOURCE NASA

Kathy Barnstorff, NASA Langley Research Center, +1-757-864-9886,
+1-757-344-8511 (mobile), kathy.barnstorff@nasa.gov; Audrey Staples, National
Institute of Aerospace, +1-757-325-6981, audrey.staples@nianet.org