Design of Big Blue Rover for Future Space Exploration

The new space exploration on Mars and beyond has started with short-teram, robotic missions and would eventually expand to long-term, human explorations and inhibitions. The success of such exploration would depend upon the means to transport robots and human safely and efficiently explore to and on the planetary surfaces. As such, NASA has been challenging students to design innovated surface vehicle through its annual Human Exploration Rover Design Challenge, hosted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Big Blue Baja Vehicle Design team at University of Kentucky Paducah campus will design, build, and race a humanpowered rover to support NASA’s space exploration missions. The team has had extensive expertise and experiences in design various offroad vehicles and will expand its design capabilities to the new rover program. This project would not only support NASA’s space exploration mission but also attract and train new students for space and STEP related careers. The proposed project highly supports NASA’s mission for space explorations and is particularly in line with the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) and the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). This project further supports NASA Education Current Area of Emphasis and the Kentucky Science and Technology Strategic Plan.