Regolith Excavation Main Event Starts Today; NSS SE Team Videos, Robots

Regolith Excavation Challenge

The Stage is Set - Regolith Excavation Challenge

As the main regolith competition approaches, the Regolith Excavation Challenge twitter is for obvious reasons sending out a lot of messages. Here are just a few of them.

@regolith_chal - Here is a gigapan image from earlier today: http://gigapan.org/gigapans/34874/

Thanks @spacevidcast for the fun and well researched video about the regolith challenge. http://moourl.com/0as0f

... We will be posting video clips during event and lots of video will be recorded for distribution later.

@paulsrobotics - #WPI robot has arrived at NASA Ames! Waiting for check-in... http://twitpic.com/lrt8a

#WPI robotics team is @ NASA competition this weekend http://bit.ly/4bP3Qm (via @WPIAlumni)

@nasaprize - In Mountain View CA for Regolith Excavation Challenge today and tomorrow - met with judges last night - teams & venue look great

Update (Saturday afternoon):

A Regolith Challenge team qualifies for purse - RLV News - This also includes a tag that some of the twitter updates are using:

@Regolith_Chal: BTW, the official tag for flickr and other media is #regolith2009.

Here are some of the updates I see using that tag:

@motorbikematt: Check out the Lunar Regolith Excavation Challenge robots #regolith2009 http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbikematt/sets/72157622480723227/

By the way, that picture collection from motorbikematt is well worth checking out.

@spacemansam: Roboexcavators! This is gonna get messy! http://twitpic.com/lw3a3

Team has an impressive control interface, including stereoscopic cameras! #regolith2009 http://twitpic.com/lw8f2

GLXP has a number of updates already, and most of them come with links to pictures. Here's one; click on the glxp link or the tag for more:

@glxp - http://twitpic.com/lxsfa - Team Astrobotic is up in about a half hour with their Moondiggers A robot. Good luck! #lunarRC

Peter Homer of Astronaut Glove Challenge fame is also making some updates:

@pkhomer - 6 of 20 teams done, only 1 successful. We don't know when our turn until 1/2 hour before. I'm updating via Twitter @pkhomer

He also has a number of updates on the status of other teams that have made attempts.

Paul's Robotics is keeping us up to date:

paulsrobotics - Auric and Next Step both moved zero. Top Hat in the box with technical difficulties. Lunar Arc up next...

Top Hat and Lunar Arc also moved zero. Laurentian Rock setting up. Moondiggers A on-deck.
NASA's Doug Comstock has some pictures of the robots:

@doug_comstock - http://twitpic.com/lx6a2 - Some of the robotic excavators in the 2009 regoligh excavation challenge.

http://twitpic.com/lx74f - More of the robotic excavators at the regolith excavation challenge.

Space Elevator Games Power Beaming/Climber Competition

And now, the movie - The Space Elevator Games (look in the "blog" section for the content specific to this post)

There is cool and then there is Über-cool… - The Space Elevator Blog has more video of the first day of the NSS team's recent qualification tests, including the "reflectivity test", the "climber melt test", and the "optics melt test".

A different sort of climber (NSS - plan B) - The Space Elevator Games - This is the 2nd part of the "plan A" story I linked to yesterday.

Other Prizes

@conradawards - Opportunities for Aerospace Innovation, webinar, David Thompson, Pres of AIAA and CEO of Orbtial, Mon., 10/19, 3pm PDT www.conradawards.org

MIT takes the wrappers off autonomous, robotic helicopter with intelligent navigation - Engadget

MileHiCon 41 - - October 23-25, Denver - One of the guest authors for this Science Fiction convention is Nancy Kress, and I happen to be reading her Probability Moon at the moment. That follows yesterday's post that included a contest involving Alastair Reynolds' Zima Blue - and I just finished his Revelation Space. It's all just coincidence. The reason this appears on this blog, though, is the Critter Crunch - a robot battle contest.