Stockbridge InvenTeam to compete in NASA challenge

Information provided by Stockbridge InvenTeam with additions by Judy Brune

Over the first few weeks of school, the Stockbridge InvenTeam members worked on a project unlike anything they had ever done before.  

On Thursday, Oct. 7, the InvenTeam received the news they had all been waiting for — they were chosen as one of  91 teams to participate in NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) in April 2022. 

HERC is a competition hosted at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office for STEM Engagement in Huntsville, Alabama. Teams from around the world will be competing to design, develop, build and test human-powered rovers to complete missions and navigate challenging terrain.

The InvenTeam, mentored by high school STEM teacher Bob Richards, is one of the 34 high school teams selected from around the globe and the only high school team from Michigan. The remaining teams are collegiate, some of which are the top technological universities in the country, such as the University of Michigan, Auburn, Texas Tech and Purdue. 

“I am excited about the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge because it is a great platform to encourage others to get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM),” shared InvenTeam marketing team leader, senior Brooklyn Rochow.

This year’s demanding course contains 12 challenges and five tasks. Two drivers from each participating school must complete the challenge in eight minutes. Teams also must think like mission planners, selecting tasks to complete along the path to gain the maximum amount of points available. The InvenTeam will have to balance efficiency with speed to simulate real-world conditions astronauts would face in a space mission.

As well as building a human-powered rover, one of the requirements for the HERC project is to build task tools. Some of the mission tasks are identifying geologic samples, deploying a solar-powered instrument, and collecting core samples. InvenTeam members are working on developing the tools needed to complete those tasks successfully.

“I am looking forward to competing with teams from around the world,” Rochow added.

More information about the HERC competition can be found at www.nasa.gov/stem/roverchallenge/home/index.html.

InvenTeam members working on the project. Back row (L to R): Brooklyn Rochow, Alayna Adkins, Ben Chapman, Brock Rochow, Hythem Beydoun and Jack Hammerberg. Front row (L to R): Kaden Carpenter, Logan Hollenbeck, DJ Chapman, Bryton Breese, Brianna Polenz and Eliana Johnson. Photo provided by InvenTeam.