Guide to Your Future

Smithsonian Voices Guide to Your Future

NASA Swarmathon

Students from Minority Serving Institutions who are interested in robotics and space exploration can enter the annual NASA Swarmathon, coding algorithms that might be used on a Mars mission one day. Students can enter the physical competition by building a “Swarmie” robotic rover that can collect objects (like Mars rocks), or the virtual competition by programming a digital rover to operate in a simulator. Whichever team collects the most ‘rocks,’ gets cash prizes up to $5,000.