Humanity’s quest to send astronauts to Mars may get a boost from a student design competition being held this week.
The Caltech Space Challenge, which runs from Monday through Friday (March 25-29) at the university’s campus in Pasadena, asks two teams of students from around the world to design a manned mission to Phobos or Deimos, Mars’ two tiny moons.
“This is a technical feat that, by necessity, will spark innovation the world over,” Nick Parziale, a PhD student in aeronautics at Caltech and leader of one of the teams, said in a statement. “We hope the Caltech Space Challenge serves as a reminder that these incredibly difficult problems are tractable, and that these passionate and dedicated students are just the women and men for the job.”