Local high school shoots for the moon

FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WALA) - The Fairhope High School engineering department is getting ready to compete in the Great Moonbuggy Race .

It's a school project for which Fairhope High School engineering students don't mind studying. The school's moon buggy team will participate in the International Moonbuggy race.

More than 100 teams from around the globe will drive their lunar rovers through an obstacle course.

The buggies are based on the design of classic rovers that American astronauts drove across the moon during the final three Apollo missions. But students admit that getting ready has not been easy.

"We have had a couple of spills here and there. Nothing too terribly catastrophic. Maybe a little blood every now and then. But no emergency room visits," said senior student Trey Wood.

The Fairhope High team has been working on its unit since the beginning of this year.

"We have from January till about now to get ready for the competition in early April," said teacher Danny Coleman.

As in any race, the fastest team wins.

In the past, the team has come in the top five, but never number one. But this year, they are crossing their fingers for the best.

Team members say this is a good prep course for college science.

"That's kind of what I want to go for is engineering as far as automobiles; kind of a passion of mine," said Wood.

Now, these students are building a small moonbuggy. In a few years, they could be building America's next automobile.

NASA's 17th Annual Great Moonbuggy race is in Huntsville April 9-10.

NASA'a Great Moonbuggy Race

NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race is one of many educational projects and initiatives the agency conducts each year to attract and engage America's next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.

They will carry on the nation's mission of exploration to uncharted destinations in our solar system.

"NASA is committed to inspiring young people in science, technology, engineering and math, and the Great Moonbuggy Race is an excellent way for us to reach out to young people and get them excited and involved in technical opportunities available to them," said Mike Selby, an avionics technical assistant in the Marshall Center's Engineering Directorate.

While completing his engineering degree at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Selby was a member of the school's moonbuggy teams, helping them to a second-place finish in 1995 and to first place in 1996. Since 2001, he has served each year as a volunteer scorekeeper. The race is hosted by the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, and is sponsored by Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Jacobs Engineering ESTS Group, all of Huntsville.

Prizes

Top prizes are awarded to the three teams in both the high school and college/university divisions that post the fastest race times, which include assembly and penalty times. A variety of other prizes are given by race corporate sponsors. These include "rookie of the year" and the "featherweight" award, presented to the team with the lightest, fastest buggy.

On the Net

For a list of this year's competitors, visit: http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov/email.html