The latest Moon Camp Challenge lifts off

Welcome to your home on the Moon! Each year, the Moon Camp Challenge competition invites students worldwide to imagine functional lunar settlements of tomorrow with the help of 3D modelling tools. The Moon Camp Challenge is an annual competition jointly run by the Airbus Foundation  and the European Space Agency, in partnership with the Autodesk software company.

The launch of NASA’s Artemis space exploration programme will mark humanity’s return to the Moon for the purposes of scientific discovery, to reap economic benefits, lay the foundations for human exploration of Mars and inspire a new generation of explorers. 

The goal is to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon with the construction of an Artemis base camp on the lunar surface. This would be a location that enables astronauts to stay on the Moon for extended periods of time, but new infrastructure must be developed to overcome important challenges.

Imagine what life could be like for astronauts on the lunar surface and participate with your ideas in this new edition of the Moon Camp Challenge, opened for submittals from 14 September through 18 April 2023.

Competing teams are once again asked to deal with the complexities of defining a habitable community on the Moon, but this year’s Challenge incorporates new features that make it easier to prepare the entries: 

• The project does not need to be written in English – it may be submitted in any language. Automatic translation of the projects may be made; therefore, it is suggested that submittals be provided in English to avoid incorrect translations. Primary communications from organisers about the Challenge will also be in English; 
• A new category called Moon Camp@school has been created as an online sharing community for teachers and educators to showcase their student's Moon Camp-related school projects (such as 3D printed designs, experiments, classroom projects etc.). This is a non-competitive category. 

Those wanting to compete for the chance to win  a 3D printer for the school can enter in one of two categories. The Moon Camp Discovery category is open to teams or individuals up to 19 years of age, but is recommended for the 6-14-years age category. For Moon Camp Explorers (up to 14 years old) and Pioneers (13 to 19 years old), teams must be composed of a minimum of two and up to a maximum of six students, and the projects need to be submitted by a teacher/educator. Students attending a post-secondary/tertiary institution are not eligible.

I am sure  that the 2022 Moon Camp Challenge will show us impressive quality designs from the students once again and provide views and inspiration from the younger generation on a future lunar ecosystem.

Rachel Schroeder, Airbus Foundation Managing Director

“We are very pleased with the level of participation every year, especially in 2021 when we reached a record number of students who accepted the challenge. For us, youth development is one of our key priorities," said Rachel Schroeder, the Airbus Foundation Managing Director. "I am sure  that the 2022 Moon Camp Challenge will show us impressive quality designs from the students once again and provide views and inspiration from the younger generation on a future lunar ecosystem.”

For more information and full participation details, visit the Moon Camp Challenge website: www.mooncampchallenge.org.