NASA Seeks Proposals for 2026 Human Exploration Rover Challenge 

NASA now accepts the proposals of the student teams for a competition to design, build and test the Rovers for the exploration of the moon and March until September 15.

Known as Challenge Human Exploration Rover, Rovers students should be able to travel a course while performing mission tasks. The handbook Challenge has guidelines for remote -controlled and man -fed divisions.

“Last year, we saw a lot of success with the beginnings of our remote -controlled division and the addition of college teams,” said Vemitra Alexander, the challenge of the challenge to the Marshall Space Flight Center in NASA in Huntsville, in Alabama. “We are impatient to rely on our remote -controlled and human power divisions with new challenges for students, including Rover Automation.”

This year’s mission imitates future artemis missions on the lunar surface. The teams are challenged to test samples of soil, water and air from sites along a half-mile course which includes a simulated field of asteroid debris, rocks, erosion ruts, crevasses and an old bed of stream. Human propulsion rover teams will play the role of two astronauts in a lunar field vehicle and must use a tailor -made task tool to manually collect the samples necessary for tests. The remote-controlled rover teams will act as a pressure rover, and the rover itself will contain the tools necessary to collect and test samples on board.

“The challenge of human exploration of NASA creates opportunities for students to develop the skills they need to succeed in STEM professionals,” said Alexander. “This challenge will help students to see themselves in the mission and give them the practical experience necessary to advance technology and to become the labor market of tomorrow.”

Seventy-five teams made up of more than 500 students participated in the agency 31st Rover Challenge in 2025. The participants represented 35 colleges and universities, 38 high schools and two colleges, in 20 states, Puerto Rico and 16 nations around the world.

The 32nd annual competition will end with an event in person from April 9 to 11, 2026 at the US Space & Rocket Center near NASA Marshall.

The Rover Challenge is one of the challenges of NASA Artemis students, reflecting the objectives of the Artemis campaign, which seeks to explore the moon for scientific discovery, technological advancement and learning to live and work on another world while we are preparing for human missions in Mars. NASA uses such challenges to encourage students to pursue diplomas and careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Since its creation in 1994, more than 15,000 students have participated in the Rover Challenge – many former students now working in NASA or in the aerospace industry.

To find out more about HERC, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge/