Beth Schmid
Headquarters, Washington, DC                       April 17, 1997
(Phone:  202/358-1760)

Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
(Phone:  205/544-0034)

RELEASE:  97-70


STUDENTS TEST ENGINEERING SKILLS 
IN FOURTH "GREAT MOON BUGGY RACE"

     The same spirit of ingenuity that produced NASA's Lunar 
Roving Vehicle is back at work as college and high school students 
from around the country prepare for the 4th Annual "Great Moon 
Buggy Race" in Huntsville, AL. 

     Students will put their engineering skills to the test by 
designing, building and racing their versions of the "moon buggy" 
on a track simulating the lunar surface.  Teams representing 16 
colleges and high schools will compete beginning at 11 a.m. EDT on 
Saturday, April 19 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in 
Huntsville.

     Competitors will race in the shadow of a giant Saturn V, like 
the rocket that boosted NASA's lunar rover to the Moon, and a 
full-size Space Shuttle mock-up.  The one-half mile race course is 
speckled with "lava ridges," "craters" and sandpits -- simulating 
the lunar surface -- as it winds through the Rocket Center's 
grounds.

     This year's moon buggy race is sponsored by NASA's Marshall 
Space Flight Center -- where the lunar roving vehicle and the 
Saturn V were designed and developed.  The moon buggy helped 
astronauts explore their landing sites on the Moon during the 
Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions. 

     "The fascinating thing I see over and over is the students' 
interest in space," said Jim Dowdy, moon buggy competition 
coordinator at Marshall.  "They go for anything that's connected 
to the space program.  The competition enhances awareness of human 
exploration and development of space." 

     Each two-member team will race its human-powered buggy, 
piloted by one male and one female student.  After a safety 
inspection of each vehicle, the competition will begin when the 
two crew members carry their moon buggy a distance of 20 feet and 
place it at the starting line. 

     Once the signal comes that the event clock is ticking, the 
crews will unfold and assemble their moon buggies from a bin no 
larger than a 4-foot cube and race around the course.  The event 
clock will stop when the vehicle and its crew cross the finish 
line.  
Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers.  The top prize 
is a trip to Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch a Space 
Shuttle launch.  A prize also will be awarded to the buggy judged 
to be the "best" design from an original, creative concept and 
offering the best technical solution to navigating on a planetary 
surface.

     Teams scheduled to compete in the race are from Arizona State 
University (Tempe); Auburn University (Auburn, AL); North Dakota 
State (Fargo); Ozark Community College (Springfield, MO); 
Pittsburg State University (Pittsburg, KS); Trenton State College 
(Trenton, NJ); University of Alabama in Huntsville; University of 
Evansville (Evansville, IN); University of Florida (Gainesville); 
University of Puerto Rico (Humacao); University of Vermont 
(Burlington); University of California (Santa Barbara); and the 
University of Tennessee (Knoxville).

     There are three entries in the high school division:  Bob 
Jones High School (Huntsville, AL); Monterey High School 
(Monterey, LA); and Autauga County Vocational Center (Prattville, 
AL).

     Other sponsors of the event include the American Institute of 
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Space 
and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL.

Note to Editors:  Satellite feeds consisting of moon buggy B-roll 
and team member interviews gathered during the race will be 
available the afternoon of April 19, beginning at approximately 
3:30 p.m. EDT.  If there are questions about the video feed, 
please call Connie James of Marshall TV at 205/544-3234.  The 
video will be transmitted on the GE-2 satellite, transponder 9C, 
at 85 degrees West longitude, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and 
audio on 6.8 MHz.

                          -end-