Students blast off to US for Nasa robotics competition

FLORIDA, 5 OCTOBER 2026 —

Queen’s University Belfast students will depart for Florida later this month to compete in NASA’s Lunabotics competition, the first time a European team will participate.

The Lunabotics competition is a university‑level event that requires teams to use NASA’s systems engineering process to design, build and operate a lunar robot. The QUB rover is expected to dig up lunar material, drive over obstacles and use the material to form a wall, thereby testing how it would perform on future moon missions.

The event is intended to simulate how real rovers carry out tasks on the Moon and to build environments for future human habitats.

Jack Fitzpatrick, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, said the invitation was “a great feeling” and a “real opportunity to demonstrate everything that you’ve learned.” He added that the team’s success reflects both the students and the university’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Fitzpatrick, who works on the mechanical side, explained that the team “analys[es] that something is physically strong enough, it’s well built enough to survive this environment, it’s going to have the traction to drive in this environment.” He noted that the rover’s 52‑kg aluminium frame was built in a lab and previously competed in Milton Keynes, where the team won the competition and “ended up winning the competition and had great fun.”

Jamie Smith, a third‑year electrical and electronic engineering student and software team lead, said the team was divided into three groups for software, electronics and mechanical. He explained that their main task was to control the rover and provide autonomous capabilities. “We had to build rover simulations to test our software before we actually got one,” Smith said.

He added that the rover’s main objective is to drive itself around a lunar‑simulated room, starting at a point, locating itself, travelling to an excavation point, picking up sand that simulates lunar regolith, and depositing it at another location, all autonomously.

The team’s design and testing process began with the creation of a 52‑kg aluminium frame rover, which was first tested at a competition in Milton Keynes. After winning that contest, the team received an invitation to compete at NASA’s international Lunabotics competition.

Fitzpatrick said that being asked to go was “a great feeling” and “a real opportunity to demonstrate everything that you’ve learned.” He added that the team would represent Northern Ireland, the UK and Europe abroad, noting that they are the only European team that will be there.

Caolán Boyle, Head of Robotics at QPL, said the team is “exceptionally proud and excited.” He added that “hundreds of hours have gone into making the rover mission ready for the event.” Boyle highlighted the team’s preparation and the significance of their participation for the university and the broader robotics community.

The competition will take place at the University of Central Florida, where the QUB team will compete against university teams from Australia, India and the United States. The event will showcase the talent that has emerged from precursor competitions in different countries, bringing together the top tier of those contests to “really showcase the talent” that exists internationally.

Fitzpatrick said the team may not win the competition this year but they are “building a base upon which we can improve year on year and maybe come back in a few years and really come through with a winning design.”

Related: Queen’s University Belfast · University of Central Florida · Florida