Lunar shelter student contest: exciting education for civil engineers

The First Lunar Shelter Student Contest was held in Albuquerque, N.M., on February 28 and March 1, 1994, as part of the activities of the Space 94 - Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space Conference and Robotics for Challenging Environments Conference. The contest was initiated by the Space Education Initiative Subcommittee of the ASCE Aerospace Division to challenge students and increase their awareness of the role of civil engineers in space exploration. The contest consisted of off-loading, transporting, placing a scale-model lunar habitat telerobotically, and providing radiation protection for the habitat. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the educational value of such student contests and document the contest development, rules development, contest execution, results, and lessons learned. The contest was very successful in providing exciting and interesting educational experiences for civil engineering students. Recommendations for future contests are also included.