Other Prize Competitions
Click here for links leading to other competitions and related activities external to Centennial Challenges.

Centennial of Flight

image of Wright flyer

In December 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright, two bicycle mechanics working with no government support, initiated the age of powered flight with their success at Kitty Hawk. NASAs Prize Program honors the spirit of the Wright Brothers and other independent inventors by acknowledging the centennial of the first powered flight in 2003. The NASA Centennial Challenges program also recognizes that the rapid and dramatic progress in aeronautics in the early years of the first century of flight was often driven by prize competitions.

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Centennial Challenges

    Latest News

    Autonomous robots created by 11 teams of engineers from across the country will compete for a NASA prize purse of $1.5 million on the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in Worcester, Mass., June 14 -17. The challenge: design and develop the next generation of robots to explore the landscapes of other worlds.

    The NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Challenge requires the competing teams to design and build an autonomous robotic system that will locate and collect a set of specific objects from a large area and return the "planetary samples" to the starting zone.

    The innovative technologies the teams bring forward can help NASA in future exploration of distant planets while also potentially benefiting life here on Earth. Earthly benefits could include areas such as disaster recovery and mitigation and remote exploration and mapping of hazardous terrains.

    Competitors:
    • Cyberdyne Systems – Whittier, CA
    • Friends of Elpenor – Arlington, MA
    • Intrepid Systems – Lynnwood, WA
    • Shoestring Rainbow – Lompoc, CA
    • SpacePRIDE – Graniteville, SC
    • Survey – Glendale, CA
    • Terra Engineering – RPV, CA
    • True Vision Robotics – Atascadero, CA
    • University of Pennsylvania Space and Mobile Robotics Team – Philadelphia, PA
    • University of Waterloo Robotics* – Waterloo, ON
    • Wunderkammer Laboratory – Canoga Park, CA
    › View NASA Press Release

    › Click here for earlier Centennial Challenge updates.

Centennial Challenges

  • illustration of a robotic arm holding a rock

    Sample Return Robot

    To demonstrate a robot that can locate and retrieve geologic samples from a wide and varied terrain without human control. The prize purse is $1.5 million.

  • image of spacecraft orbiting the earth

    Nano-Satellite Launch

    To place a small satellite into Earth orbit, twice in one week. The prize purse is $2 million.

  • illustration of rover

    Night Rover

    To demonstrate a solar-powered exploration vehicle that can operate in darkness using its own stored energy. The prize purse is $1.5 million.

  • image of Goddard

    Past Challenges

    Review some of the past challenges including Regolith Excavation, Lunar Lander, Astronaut Glove and ideas submitted by the public.

Mission Overview

    The Centennial Challenges seek to:
    • Drive progress in aerospace technology of value to NASA's missions
    • Encourage the participation of independent teams, individual inventors, student groups and private companies of all sizes in aerospace research and development
    • Find the most innovative solutions to technical challenges through competition and cooperation

Video Gallery

2009 Centennial Challenges

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