Moon Base Marvels: Celebrating the winners of the 2022-23 Moon Camp Challenge
This year's Moon Camp Challenge witnessed a remarkable display of creativity and innovation as 5354 students from 39 countries embarked on the mission to explore and design their own take of life on the Moon. Inspiring designs were received from all over the world, with representation from 20 ESA Member States, Canada, Slovenia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Equipped with 3D design tools, these young visionaries unleashed their creativity, crafting unique concepts that push the boundaries of lunar habitation design.
The European Space Agency, Airbus Foundation and Autodesk are delighted to announce the winning projects of the Moon Camp Challenge 2022-2023.
The Moon Camp Challenge jury, an expert panel of ESA and Airbus Foundation professionals in the lunar exploration, 3D design, and space technology areas, were blown away by the impressive quality of the student’s projects.
Advenit Makaya, an Advanced Manufacturing Engineer at ESA who develops materials for use in space, had some kind words on this year’s teams:
“Year on year the quality of these projects continues to grow… and we see the teams having a better understanding of the different drivers of space exploration, space conditions and the international developments in lunar exploration”.
The jury members had the difficult task of selecting the three best entries from both ESA Member States and non-ESA Member States in the Moon Camp Explorers and Moon Camp Pioneers categories. All entries were judged on their creativity and innovation, feasibility, and 3D design quality, and given an assessment on how well the design was suited to the lunar environment.
“The thought and logic behind the projects submitted by the students always blows my mind… they are almost too good to judge”, said John Chinner, Airbus Aerospace Engineer.“ It is really exciting to see the project elements each year develop in parallel with the new developments in the space sector. The students are clearly researching current and emerging space technology and incorporating them into their Moon camp projects”.
The Moon Camp Challenge has three category levels. For the advanced Moon Camp Pioneers category, 171 teams involving 954 students across 23 countries (including 14 ESA Member States, Canada, and Slovenia), designed a complete Moon base using the complex 3D design tool Fusion 360, or another tool of their choice. Teams found innovative ways to make a sustainable Moon Camp fit for commercial, scientific, and/or tourist purposes, and thought about what kind of vehicles they would need to traverse the lunar surface.
For the intermediate Moon Camp Explorers category, 1069 students from 313 teams across 27 countries (including 17 ESA Member States, Canada, Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania), designed a complete Moon base using Tinkercad. They were challenged to think about the technical aspects of their design, such as resource management, protection, and sustainability, as well as how they would train their astronauts for a mission to the Moon.
Moon Camp Discovery, the non-competitive category for 3D design beginners, saw the participation of 2674 students from 1429 teams across 28 countries (including 17 ESA Member States, Canada, Slovenia, and Lithuania). This year’s submissions included a wonderful array of 3D designed lunar camps, rockets, lunar landers, lunar rovers, orbital space stations, and space suits, created using Tinkercad.
This year also saw the first ever submission of projects for the Moon Camp @School category. Students and educators shared their incredible school projects, including creating robotic arms and rovers, writing graphic novels, crafting cardboard moon camps, and designing solar ovens. @School saw the participation of 657 students from 142 teams across 16 countries (including 10 ESA Member States).
ESA, Airbus Foundation, and Autodesk would like to congratulate all teams that completed the Moon Camp Challenge this year for their great work and would like to say a big thank you to all teachers, parents, and mentors who helped to support the students in their submissions. Well done!
Winning teams:
Moon Camp Pioneers (from 13 up to 19 years old inclusive)
ESA Member States, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia
1st place: MRLB – Czech Republic
2nd place: Bartholdi Space Program - France
3rd place: Next Generation - UK
Non-ESA Member States
1st place: Skyhook - China
2nd place: Terra Mimesis - Turkey
3rd place: Twinkler - China
Highly commended project
ATLAS - Austria
Moon Camp Explorers (up to 14 years old inclusive)
ESA Member States, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia
1st place: Cserepka trio - Hungary
2nd place: PCE (Projeto Ciência na Escola) AEPAS – Portugal
3rd place: A.P.O.I.K.I.A - Greece
Non-ESA Member States
1st place: Shining Stars - Turkey
2nd place: KILLA WASI - Bolivia
3rd place: Los astronautas lunares - Bolivia
The teams that have won 1st place will receive a 3D printer, offered by the Airbus Foundation. All the winning teams will get the chance to chat with an ESA astronaut in the Moon Camp webinar and receive ESA goodies.
You can explore all the Moon Camp projects at www.mooncampchallenge.org.