Suggested Searches

Two students travel over bumpy terrain in man-made rover
Two students travel over dirt terrain in man-made rover
Two students travel over rocky terrain in man-made rover

Human Exploration Rover Challenge

The NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) is a rigorous and continuously evolving activity which engages students in hands-on engineering design correlated to NASA’s Artemis missions. HERC aims to meet established educational objectives and provide constant program improvement that satisfy the needs of its participants. HERC is opened to U.S. and International student teams at the middle school, high school, and college/university level. Our culminating event is each year in Huntsville, Alabama home of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

About HERC about Human Exploration Rover Challenge

Event Dates

April 11-12, 2025

Event location

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL

Eligibility

Open to U.S. and International Students

grade levels

6-12, College and University

Featured Story

NASA Announces Teams to Compete in International Rover Challenge

NASA has selected 75 student teams to begin an engineering design challenge to build rovers that will compete next spring…

Read the Story

2025 Handbook

Competition requirements, timeline, and general information

The NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge Handbook contains information that teams will need to know to participate in the challenge. The handbook includes the following: General Information, Timeline, Competition Guidelines and Regulations, Requirements, Deliverables, Points Breakdown and Allocation, and Course Descriptions and Design. The Handbook may receive periodic updates; please be sure to check back to make sure you are working from the most recent copy.

Please direct questions and inquiries regarding registration, event operations, or logistics to HERC@mail.nasa.gov.

View 2025 Handbook
Cover of the 2025 Human Exploration Rover Challenge handbook featuring two astronauts in a rover on the moon

Join Artemis!

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!
A group of students pose with their project

Contact Us

Please direct questions and inquiries regarding registration, competition operations or logistics to the challenge organizers listed below.

HERC Implementation Team
Office of STEM Engagement
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, AL
HERC@mail.nasa.gov

Members of the news media interested in attending or interviewing participants before or during the event should contact the organizers listed below.

Chris Blair / Taylor Goodwin
Public and Employee Communications Office 
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, AL
256-544-0034
christopher.e.blair@nasa.gov  / taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov