HUNTSVILLE – The Human Exploration Rover Challenge team at the University of Alabama in Huntsville recently hosted the Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo from the Dominican Republic during NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge.
The two student squads had bonded during a UAH team visit to the DR in 2024, an outreach opportunity that helped power INTEC Team Apolo 27 to a second-place finish in this year’s human-powered competition, as well as first place in the remote control event, while UAH’s Team ATHENA overcame serious mechanical setbacks to place third overall in the university division.
The rover challenge is one of NASA’s eight Artemis Student Challenges aimed to support the goals of the Artemis campaign, an initiative targeted with returning Americans to the Moon in preparation for missions to Mars. Established in 1994, the 2025 event featured 75 teams from 16 nations with squads representing 35 colleges and universities, 38 high schools and two middle schools.
UAH invited the DR students and advisors to a banquet on campus to celebrate the achievements of the two groups, followed by a tour of the mechanical and aerospace engineering shop at Olin B. King Technology Hall to see the UAH rover shop facilities and assembly room…