Participation begins with your decision to compete and ends with the presentation at the conference at KSC.

Selection of Finalist Teams (Fall 2004 Semester)

A Peer Review Committee, consisting of representatives of NASA, industry and universities, will select from among the proposals received up to four student teams to participate as finalists in the 2004-05 Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) University Design Competition. The Committee will assess each proposal according to the following criteria:

• Strength and depth of thought invested in preparing a professional Conceptual Design Review (CDR) Report, which is to provide an overview of the team's top-level Conceptual Design of a portion of an overall system to conduct a lunar characterization and demonstration experiment for a robotic lander in the South Polar region of the Moon; a competing team should make its CDR Report as comprehensive and "thought-through" as possible, as these will be the fundamental criteria by which its work will be judged during the peer review process;

  The Conceptual Design Review should include:
  
   

  • Compilation of Assumptions
  • List of Conceptual Design Options
  • Description of Trade Studies Used for Selection of Design Option and Alternatives
  • List and Description of Design Methodologies Used for Option Selection

  Compilation of Assumptions:
  A listing of specific qualitative and quantitative information significant to conduct a lunar characterization and demonstration experiment for a robotic lander in the South Polar region of the Moon.

  List Conceptual Design Options:
  A list of design options proposed and the factors pertaining to each systems performance levels, expected use profiles, user environment, operational life cycles, effectiveness requirements, level of maintenance and support considerations.

  Description of Trade Studies Used for Selection of Design Option and Alternatives:
  Identify and describe the trade studies used for the selection of the conceptual designs and their alternatives and the unique technology and applications specific to each design.

  List and Description of Design Methodologies Used for Option Selection:
  Identify the design methodologies used to determine the soundness of each feasible conceptual solution relative to the pertinent parameters, both direct and indirect.
  
   

• Innovativeness of design concepts infusing new technologies where appropriate.
• Ability of team to form strategic alliances (e.g., partnerships with students in related fields, industry, news media organizations, etc.) and describe how they will be useful and effective;
• Institutional and community resources obtained in support of the team's proposal-writing and post-selection activities (e.g., course credit, coverage of expenses, local publicity, community outreach support, etc.)
• Extent and quality of a proposed Outreach Plan to implement effective strategies for the team to transfer the experience and knowledge gained through participation in the 2004-05 Lunar ISRU University Design Competition to other audiences, including faculty and students in all levels of education as well as the general public;
• Presence of a formal, written commitment of the proposing team's home institution and/or other qualified source (e.g., National Space Grant state consortium, corporate underwriter, etc.) to arrange for funding to cover all costs associated with its participation, including those for travel for at least two team members to the 2004-05 Lunar ISRU University Design Competition Conference in Florida (see below).

We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented groups, including those attending institutions serving underrepresented groups, to submit proposals.

We also encourage, but do not require, teams to include a Team Journalist within its membership. Each Team Journalist will be required to be a professional journalist (not a student journalist) and will be expected to report the activities of his/her team to the community in which the team is based.

Review Criteria Weighting

Reviewers will assign to each proposal a numerical score of 1-10 (10 being the highest) in each of two categories - "Technical" and "Outreach." The weighted average of those two scores will constitute an overall score, which will be used to rank-order the proposals received.

"Technical" will comprise 85% of this score; "Outreach", 15%. Selection of the participating teams will be made according to the teams' rankings based on their overall scores.

Cash Awards for the Selected Teams

All four student teams will each receive cash awards of $1,000 (a) upon selection as a Finalist Team, and $1,000 (b) upon receipt of a satisfactory Preliminary Design Report (PDR), for a total of $2,000 each. In addition, each Finalist Team will receive $10,000 from NASA to refine their designs in preparation for the selection of a winning design in May 2005. (Contingent on NASA's receipt of federal funding for this activity.).

Design Phase (Spring 2005 Semester)

During the Design Phase, which will occur during the Spring 2005 Semester, the four selected teams will be asked to produce design documents according to the following schedule:

The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) Report is to contain all information necessary to define a detailed preliminary design. This design report will be written in a detailed format and will include a maximum of 50 pages of single-spaced text. Each team will send a digital copy of its PDR Report to the Project Co-Directors, who will forward it to the Lunar ISRU Design Review Committee.

 Feedback will be provided to the proposal teams during the week of April 4, 2005

The Detailed Design Review (DDR) Report is an end-of-semester, end-of-project report that provides all necessary information for a detailed preliminary design. This design report will be written in a detailed format and will include a maximum of 50 pages of single-spaced text. It will also include all trade studies, detailed designs, diagrams, tables, integration tables, final mass estimates, volume, power, operational constraints, and program outlines developed by the team. Each team will send a digital copy of its DDR Report to the Project Co-Directors, who will forward it to the Lunar ISRU Design Review Committee.

Outreach Program Report: Teams must undertake and complete an Outreach Program. At a minimum, it must include (a) an Outreach Report of 15 pages or less in length (at least 12pt. typeface) and (b) a Team Web Site. The web site must be established within two (2) weeks of receiving notice that the team has been selected as one of four Competition Finalist teams and is to be developed and evolved throughout the remainder of the team's Lunar ISRU participation. The contents of the web site must be described in the proposal.

Lunar ISRU Design Conference (May 24-25, 2005)

A NASA Lunar ISRU Design Conference will be held at the Kennedy Space Center at the end of the spring semester. During the conference, each team will present its final Detailed Design based on its DDR Report, as well as its Outreach Program Report.