Design-Build NASA Lunabotics Competition Arena


NASA Lunabotics Competition Arena

VIEW THE ARENA 360°

8-koi engineered and constructed the Robotic Mining Competition Indoor Arena at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Awarded by the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC), 8-koi furnished all the labor, equipment, materials, transportation and supervision within a budget of $292,957. The arena was built on time to host the student competition originally scheduled for May 18-22, 2020 at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation in the Center for Space Education at KSC.

See the video and read more about the 2022 Grand Opening.

The competition is a part of the Artemis Student Challenges, designed to engage and retain students in STEM fields by expanding opportunities for student research and design in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. The arena was built to provide a simulation to university students who are designing, building, and operating lunar excavator prototypes that are tasked with excavating lunar soil, known as regolith, that could be used as building materials, water, or even rocket fuel necessary to have a sustainable presence on the moon.

The clear enclosure features a field of competition open to spectator viewing that safely contains the Black Point-1 (BP-1) Lunar Basaltic Regolith Simulant which is a lava basalt aggregate with a natural particle size distribution similar to that of lunar soil. Each mining lane is ~6.8 meters long (~3.6 meter obstacle zone plus a ~3.2 meter excavation zone) and ~2.5 meters wide. The competition space is equipped with both wired and wireless communications for controlling the robots as well as streaming a live audio-visual feed.

Storage Building Project

NAS Jacksonville, FL

8-koi® provided all the labor, materials, equipment, supervision, and quality control necessary to construct the pre-engineered metal Storage building within the airfield control area. The scope of work also encompassed horizontal site improvements, utilities, and pavements. This work was carried out within an operational area, ensuring that it did not disrupt the facility’s operational and mission objectives.

Communications Project

NAS JAX Hospital

This construction project involved the removal and replacement of the nurse call system, Public Address system, all synchronized clocks, and select phone circuits throughout the Naval Hospital at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. All work needed to be completed while the hospital was staffed and remained fully operational. Coordination was required with multiple departments and logistics were key for the successful acceptance of the new system prior to dismantling and removing the existing systems. Also, as part of this project several spaces were remodeled including new MPE services and finishes. Detailed record drawings, product data and video training programs were required as part of the project.