PCE News
Astro Anchors' Lunar Flagpole Design Shines in NASA's Micro-g NExT Challenge and Secures STEM Outreach Award
July 25, 2024
The Grand Valley student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has been competing in NASA's Micro-g NExT challenge, which includes designing a flag, flagpole, and anchoring system that can be deployed on the moon's surface with ease by a fully suited astronaut.
During the Fall 2023 semester, the 12-person ASME team, dubbed Astro Anchors, submitted a proposal to NASA for an innovative design to deploy the United States flag on the lunar surface for the Artemis space mission. The team's proposal was selected to move to Phase 2 - build and test - in December 2023. Over the Winter 2024 and early Summer 2024 semesters, the team, led by Scott Strayer, worked on building the innovative design to be tested at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Simultaneously, the team conducted several outreach events with Allendale High School and also participated in the Roger That symposium.
During the second week of June 2024, the team visited the Johnson Space Center for the testing of the lunar flagpole. GVSU's device was the only one to functionally deploy during the allotted time and also withstand the applied forces! The astronauts were highly appreciative of the simple but effective design.
The outreach events conducted by Astro Anchors further secured them an outreach award from NASA in recognition of their STEM engagement with the local community.
Learn more about the GV ASME student chapter here.