A group of engineering students from South Dakota State University, known as ‘Space Trajectory,’ has progressed to the top six finalists in NASA’s “Break the Ice” challenge, aimed at developing technologies to support sustained human presence on the moon.
The team, having already secured $75,000, earned a “Runner Up” award after submitting their robotic system prototype for digging icy moon dirt.
The final phase, scheduled for May 2024 at an undisclosed NASA location, offers a chance for the teams to compete for a total of $1.5 million in cash prizes, with $1 million for the first-place winner and $500,000 for the second place.