NASA Announces 32nd Annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge Winners

NASA’s 32nd annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge, one of the agency’s longest-standing student challenges, culminated April 10-11 with its final excursion event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Spanning nine months, the challenge tasks student teams from around the earth to design, build, and test a lunar rover powered by either human pilots or remote control. The annual competition concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing the top-performing teams.

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This video highlights student teams from around the international community that competed in NASA’s 2026 Human Exploration Rover Challenge, held April 10–11 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Teams navigated a challenging obstacle course and completed complex mission tasks using human-powered and remote-controlled rovers.

NASA

In the human-powered division, Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas earned first place in the high school division, while the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, won the college and university title. In the remote-control division, Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, earned the top award in the middle and high school division, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville in Huntsville, Alabama, secured the college and university title.

More than 500 students representing 42 teams from around the earth participated in the 32nd annual competition. Teams included students from 28 colleges and universities, 13 high schools, and one middle school across 18 U.S. states, Puerto Rico,

Teams were scored on their ability to navigate a half-mile obstacle course, complete mission-specific task challenges, and pass multiple safety and design reviews conducted by NASA engineers, with awards presented across human-powered and remote-control divisions.

“This challenge gives students a hands-on opportunity to think like engineers and problem-solvers, applying real-world design principles to complex exploration scenarios,” mentioned Vemitra Alexander, who leads the Human Exploration Rover Challenge for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement at Marshall. “By encouraging innovation and teamwork, we’re helping prepare the next generation to contribute to missions that will take us farther into space.”

Here is the full list of winners:

Human-Powered High School Division

First Place: Parish Episcopal School, Dallas, Texas

Second Place: Kealakehe High School, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Third Place: Debbie Smith Career and Technical Education Academy, Reno, Nevada

Human-Powered College/University Division

First Place: University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Missouri

Second Place: Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

Third Place: The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama

Remote-Control Middle School/High School Division

First Place: Gould Academy, Bethel, Maine

Second Place: SoulPhamm, South Plainfield, Fresh Jersey

Third Place: Space and Engineering Technologies Academy, San Antonio, Texas

Remote-Control College/University Division

First Place: The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama

Second Place: South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota

Third Place: Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida

Rookie of the Year

Gould Academy, Bethel, Maine

Task Challenge Award

Remote-Control

Middle School/High School Division: Gould Academy, Bethel, Maine

College/University Division: The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama

Human-Powered

High School Division: Parish Episcopal School, Dallas, Texas

College/University Division: Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

Ingenuity Award

Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Phoenix Award

College/University Division: University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

Project Review Award

High School Division: Parish Episcopal School, Dallas, Texas

College/University Division: University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Missouri

Middle School/High School Division: SoulPhamm, South Plainfield, Updated Jersey

Industry STEM Engagement Award

High School Division: Erie High School, Erie, Colorado

College/University Division: Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Community STEM Engagement Award

High School Division: Debbie Smith Career and Technical Education Academy, Reno, Nevada

College/University Division: Universidad Aeronáutica en Querétaro, Coyote, Mexico

Middle School/High School Division: Chaminade High School, Mineola, Fresh York

College/University Division: ATLAS SkillTech University, Mumbai, India

Social Media Award

High School Division: Albertville Innovation Academy, Albertville, Alabama

Middle School/High School Division: Space and Engineering Technologies Academy, San Antonio, Texas

Team Spirit Award

Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Crash and Burn Award

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (Human Powered), Huntsville, Alabama

Most Improved Performance Award

High School Division: Kealakehe High School, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

College/University Division: Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina

Safety Award

Pit Crew Award

Featherweight Award

Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina

The rover challenge is one of NASA’s eight Artemis Student Challenges reflecting the goals of the Artemis program, which will land Americans on the Moon while establishing a long-term presence for science and exploration, preparing for future human missions to Mars. NASA uses such challenges to encourage students to pursue degrees and careers in the fields of science, innovation, engineering, and mathematics.

The competition is managed by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Marshall. Since its inception in 1994, more than 15,000 students have participated – with many former students working at NASA, or within the aerospace industry.

Learn more about the Human Exploration Rover Challenge.

Details This also touches on aspects of foreign policy.

Last Updated

Apr 13, 2026

Editor

Lee Mohon

Contact

Lance D. Davis Furthermore, experts in diplomacy note the continued relevance.

lance.d.davis@nasa.gov

Location

Marshall Space Flight Center

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