Space Raiders, MSOE’s Lunabotics team, is one step closer to the moon after successfully completing their Proof of Life testing for the 2026 NASA Lunabotics Challenge. The annual competition challenges university teams to design and build autonomous robots capable of constructing berm structures from lunar regolith simulant, all in support of NASA’s Artemis program.

In their Proof of Life video, the Space Raiders showed they met volumetric, safety and weight requirements for the Lunabotics Challenge. They also proved the full functionality of their rover by showing a complete competition cycle of excavation and traversal, which they filmed in the sand at McKinley Beach. Their full Proof of Life test is available to watch.

With Proof of Life complete, the team is headed to the Qualifying Round of the NASA Lunabotics Challenge at UCF’s Florida Space Institute Exolith Lab in Orlando, Florida, May 14–17, which will be livestreamed. The top 10 teams proceed to the final round at the Kennedy Space Center’s Artemis Arena on May 19-21. 

At last year’s competition, the team earned their highest finish to date, placing 8th out of 72 teams. This year they’re shooting for a top five finish. “We are aiming to surpass last year's performance and are proud to say we have a real shot at doing so,” said Mitchell Brust, mechanical engineering senior. “We have invested heavily in NASA’s systems engineering principles this season and are targeting the coveted Project Management Award, which will be no small feat when competing against powerhouse programs like MIT, Caltech, and Carnegie Mellon.”

A total of 27 members participated on MSOE’s Lunabotics team this year to build their vehicle. Their biggest challenge was building the controls and autonomy system from the ground up. “With a brand new controls team, we have knowledgeable students applying machine learning algorithms to autonomously traverse a simulated lunar surface, a challenge that NASA itself is actively working to solve­—hence the competition!” explained Brust. “We are incredibly proud of what our controls team has accomplished this year.”

Brust shared MSOE is currently tied for the top spot based on their deliverable scores so far this season. Follow the team on Instagram @msoe_space_raiders and cheer them on as they head to Florida for the competition! You can also watch the UCF Qualifiers livestream and cheer the team on virtually. They are scheduled to compete at 10:10 a.m. (CDT) on Thursday, May 14 and again at 10:10 a.m. (CDT) on Saturday, May 16.