NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC)

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). HERC is a rigorous and continuously evolving activity that engages students in hands-on engineering design correlated to NASA's Artemis missions. It is open to U.

S. and International student teams at the middle school, high school, and college/university level.

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(Grades 5-8) NASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida President Honors NASA’s Artemis II Crew with Highest US Space Award NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Departs Agency to Continue Military Service La NASA anuncia la cobertura de la misión lunar Artemis II Agenda diaria de la misión a la Luna de Artemis II de la NASA La NASA refuerza Artemis: añade una misión y perfecciona su arquitectura general Human Exploration Rover Challenge HERC is a nine-month long challenge that tasks student teams to design and build human-powered or remote-controlled rovers capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while completing mission tasks.

It is a hands-on, research-based, engineering activity and culminates each year with a final excursion event in Huntsville, Alabama, home of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The activity offers multiple challenges, reaching a broad audience of colleges and universities as well as middle and high school aged students across the world.

Contact Us about Human Exploration Rover Challenge U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL Open to U.S. and International Students 6-12, College and University NOTE: This archived content may contain outdated information or references that may not reflect current policy or programs. NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge is a NASA-conducted engineering design challenge providing resources and experiences for students and faculty.

The activity is built around NASA’s mission, providing participants with the opportunity to engage with agency subject matter experts and professionals across aerospace industry.

After a competitive proposal selection process, teams participate in a series of design reviews with a NASA panel that mirror the agency’s engineering design lifecycle, providing experiences that prepare students for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics ( STEM) workforce. Teams must complete a Design Review, Operational Readiness Review, Mission Readiness Review, and Excursion Readiness Review before final excursion.

Team must pass each milestone to move onto the next. NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge is open for proposals from: Any U.S. college, university, middle school, or high school. Any U.S. informal education institution serving middle school or high school aged students.

Any international college, university, middle school, or high school. 2027 Deliverable and Event Timeline The 2027 HERC handbook includes the guidelines and regulations, requirements, deliverables, a detailed timeline, and more. The NASA HERC proposal period is now open, and all proposals must be submitted by September 17, 2026, at 8:00 a.

m. Central Time. Please upload your proposal using the NASA HERC Proposal Submission Link, which contains all required submission instructions.

2027 Deliverable and Event Timeline Dates are subject to change. All deliverables are due by 8AM CT on appointed date. Participating teams represent colleges, universities, middle and high schools from around the world.

View highlights from the 2026 challenge!

Authentic, hands-on learning experiences give students in middle school all the way through graduate school a chance to flex their design and engineering skills as they build and launch high-powered rockets, design robots capable of mining the Moon’s surface or traversing difficult lunar terrain, create human-powered rovers, and test technologies and tools to assist future astronauts working on the Moon. Learn More about Join Artemis!

Please direct questions and inquiries regarding registration, competition operations or logistics to the challenge organizers listed below. NASA Office of STEM Engagement Marshall Space Flight Center Members of the news media interested in attending or interviewing participants before or during the event should contact the organizers listed below. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 Email: lance.

d. davis@nasa. gov Discover More Topics From NASA For Colleges and Universities NASA STEM Opportunities and Activities For Students