MARSPORT ENGINEEERING DESIGN STUDENT COMPETITION
Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) and the Texas Space Grant Consortium(TSGC) are jointly sponsoring the NASA MarsPort Engineering Design Student Competition 2001-2002 Pilot Program. It is jointly sponsored by NASA, Science Applications International Corporation, Florida Space Institute, and The Boeing Company. In the first year of this two-year Pilot Program, up to six teams of students will conduct engineering trade and design studies involving the design of a cryogenics and Consumables Station for operation on the surface of Mars. Scientific knowledge, hands-on educational experience, public outreach tools, and publicity for the students in the teams’ hometown news media, their schools and NASA will be the principal products of the proposed project.
The NASA MarsPort Engineering Design Student Competition 2001 website is maintained by the Texas Space Grant Consortium. Please click on the link below for the MarsPort website and information on the contest guidelines.
http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/marsport/2001
MarsPort 2001/Selected Teams
- Cornell University – The Odysseus Team (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Michel Louge)
- Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Mahmout Reyhanoglu)
- Georgia Institute of Technology (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. John Olds)
- The George Washington University – Joint Institute for Advancement of Flight Sciences Team (Faculty Co-Supervisors: Dr. Robert Tolson and Dr. Paul Cooper)
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Faculty Co-Supervisors: Dr. James Evans Lyne and Dr. Lawrence Taylor)
- University of Wisconsin – Madison (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. John M. Pfotenhauer)
KSC-Spaceport News on the MarsPort Competition – PDF File
MarsPort Engineering Design Student Conference 2001
The MarsPort Engineering Design Student Competition Conference 2001 was held at the Debus Conference Facility at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on May 7 & 8, 2001. About 50 students and faculty advisors from the 6 universities attended the conference along with invited guests from NASA Kennedy Space Center. The judges were from the University of Florida, SAIC, Boeing, and Kennedy Space Center. The conference was sponsored by the Florida Space Grant Consortium, Kennedy Space Center, and SAIC.
Each team made a 40 minute presentation that was followed by a 5 minute question and answer session. The winners of the technical part of the competition was the George Washington University while Cornell University were the runner-up. The final winner will be declared in the Fall of 2001 after all six teams present their outreach activities.
Images from the MarsPort Engineering Design Student Conference 2001
Cornell University team with Dr. Sam Durrance at the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden
Georgia Institute of Technology team with Dr. Sam Durrance at the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden
The George Washington University team with Dr. Sam Durrance at the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden