NEEDHAM GRAVITY
MIT Award-Winning Student Engineering Team Designing & Building NASA Exploration Rovers
"HERC is a nine-month long challenge that tasks student teams to design and build human-powered or remote-controlled rovers capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while completing mission tasks. It is a hands-on, research-based, engineering activity and culminates each year with a final excursion event in Huntsville, Alabama, home of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The activity offers multiple challenges, reaching a broad audience of colleges and universities as well as middle and high school aged students across the world." — NASA
We design, fabricate, and test a remote-controlled rover using various engineering solutions, such as CAD modeling, 3D printing, and CNC machining.
We utilize various strategies, such as weight management and debris management to traverse rough terrain. We are unique in our use of treads on our rover, which allows us to traverse rough terrain and inclines with ease.
After the rover arrives at the task site, we perform simulated science tasks for the mission, including measuring distance and identifying objects.
Students lead design, fabricate, and test specialized rover systems.
We use lightweight and strong materials like aluminium for the chassis. The chassis is mounted to each tread assembly by two shock absorbers, aiding in suspension.
On each tread assembly, we use two sprockets, each driven by its own 12V 10:1 motor, to drive the treads. The bottom of the treads are tensioned by four roller wheels which each have their own shock absorbers.
We utilize an electronics system organized around a Raspberry Pi. When radio signals are sent by NASA, we receive them, decode them, and respond accordingly. To do so, we can utilize the gimbal-mounted camera to take pictures, or the ToF sensor to measure distance to a target.
Leaders and engineers driving innovation in our rover design.
Faculty Advisor
Provides mentorship throughout the challenge, serving as an advisor to the team and an adult communicator.
Student Team Lead
MIT BWSI Build A CubeSat Challenge First-Place Winner Coordinates overall team effort, manages deadlines, and ensures all divisions work together seamlessly. Also has the additional task of creating circuit diagrams for the electronics.
Student Safety Officer
MIT BWSI Build A CubeSat Challenge First-Place Winner Ensures all team members follow proper safety procedures and that the rover meets competition safety requirements according to NASA's standards.
Hardware Manager
Oversees the design and fabrication of mechanical components. Manages obtainment of hardware and assembly.
Software Manager
MIT BWSI Build A CubeSat Challenge First-Place Winner Develops and integrates software, interprets radio communication, and implements autonomous decision-making code.
Pilot
Drives the rover during testing and competition using a remote control link.
Documentation Manager
Maintains technical documentation, design reports, and submissions for the competition. Ensures all work is properly recorded.
Social Media & Outreach Manager
Manages team outreach, social media presence, and engagement with the community.
Key milestones for NASA HERC 2026-2027 competition.
We finalize the design from our proposal and begin detailed CAD modeling and analysis, while also planning manufacturing procedures.
We begin the fabrication of the rover chassis, treads, and other components, ensuring all parts meet design specifications. We design circuit schematics and implement wiring. All the while, we test our subsystems.
We integrate all subsystems, ensuring they work together seamlessly and meet design requirements. We run thorough testing to ensure all parts collectively function as intended.
We participate in the NASA HERC competition, showcasing our rover and its capabilities. We gather feedback and analyze our performance for future improvements.
Support high school engineering students building NASA exploration technology.
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