Student teams showcased their engineering prowess at NASA’s 2026 Human Exploration Rover Challenge, with University of Alabama in Huntsville winning big.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — After nine months of designing, building, and testing, student teams from around the world finally got their moment on the lunar obstacle course — and when the dust settled at the Aviation Challenge facility in Huntsville, a handful of schools rose to the top of NASA’s 2026 Human Exploration Rover Challenge.
The University of Alabama in Huntsville and Gould Academy claimed first-place finishes in the college and high school remote-controlled divisions, respectively, while Parish Episcopal School and the University of Central Missouri took top honors in the human-powered categories. The competition wrapped up Saturday after two days of racing and mission tasks on a course designed to simulate the surface of the Moon.
“Following months of work and a two-day in-person competition in Huntsville, Alabama, we are proud to announce the winners of our 2026 Rover Challenge,” NASA said in a statement, thanking the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, volunteers, staff, and the teams and their supporters for “yet another amazing year.”
HERC, as the competition is known, is one of NASA’s most hands-on student engineering programs. Since last fall, the 44 competing teams — drawn from high schools and universities across the country and internationally — have been designing and building rovers from scratch, walking through the full engineering design cycle: concept, prototype, test, and compete. Some teams built human-powered rovers; others built remote-controlled machines. All were put through the same rugged course built to mimic unpredictable lunar terrain.
Huntsville has become a natural home for the event, given its deep ties to America’s space program. The Aviation Challenge facility and the nearby U.S. Space and Rocket Center provide a fitting backdrop for a competition that asks students to think and build like NASA engineers.
Beyond the overall standings, NASA handed out more than a dozen specialty awards recognizing everything from safety and team spirit to social media engagement and the spirit of perseverance — including a Phoenix Award for teams that overcame adversity, and a Crash & Burn Award that went to the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
University of Alabama in Huntsville had a standout weekend overall, appearing on the winners list in multiple categories including first place, third place, Most Improved Performance, Project Review, Task Challenge, and the Crash & Burn Award — a reflection of a team that competed hard across the board.
International teams also made a strong showing. Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo took home the Team Spirit Award and placed in the Industry STEM Engagement and Social Media categories. ATLAS SkillTech University appeared in both the Social Media and Community STEM Engagement awards.
Full results are listed below.
2026 NASA HUMAN EXPLORATION ROVER CHALLENGE — FULL AWARD WINNERS
OVERALL WINNER, FIRST PLACE
High School Remote-Controlled: Gould AcademyCollege Remote-Controlled: University of Alabama, HuntsvilleHigh School Human-Powered: Parish Episcopal SchoolCollege Human-Powered: University of Central Missouri
OVERALL WINNER, SECOND PLACE
High School Remote-Controlled: SoulPhammCollege Remote-Controlled: South Dakota State UniversityHigh School Human-Powered: Kealakehe High SchoolCollege Human-Powered: Rhode Island School of Design
OVERALL WINNER, THIRD PLACE
High School Remote-Controlled: Space and Engineering Technologies AcademyCollege Remote-Controlled: Florida Atlantic UniversityHigh School Human-Powered: Debbie Smith CTE AcademyCollege Human-Powered: University of Alabama, Huntsville
MOST IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
High School Remote-Controlled: Gould AcademyCollege Remote-Controlled: Campbell UniversityHigh School Human-Powered: Kealakehe High SchoolCollege Human-Powered: University of Alabama, Huntsville
High School Remote-Controlled: SoulPhammCollege Remote-Controlled: University of Alabama, HuntsvilleHigh School Human-Powered: Parish Episcopal SchoolCollege Human-Powered: University of Central Missouri
High School Remote-Controlled: Gould AcademyCollege Remote-Controlled: The University of the District of ColumbiaHigh School Human-Powered: Parish Episcopal SchoolCollege Human-Powered: Rhode Island School of Design
High School Remote-Controlled: Space and Engineering Technologies AcademyCollege Remote-Controlled: ATLAS SkillTech UniversityHigh School Human-Powered: Albertville Innovation AcademyCollege Human-Powered: Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo
High School Remote-Controlled: Gould AcademyCollege Remote-Controlled: University of Alabama, HuntsvilleHigh School Human-Powered: Parish Episcopal SchoolCollege Human-Powered: Rhode Island School of Design
JEFF NORRIS & JOE SEXTON PIT CREW AWARD
High School Human-Powered: Erie High SchoolCollege Human-Powered: Campbell University
COMMUNITY STEM ENGAGEMENT AWARD
High School Remote-Controlled: Chaminade High SchoolCollege Remote-Controlled: ATLAS SkillTech UniversityHigh School Human-Powered: Debbie Smith CTE AcademyCollege Human-Powered: Universidad Aeronautica en Queretaro
INDUSTRY STEM ENGAGEMENT AWARD
High School Remote-Controlled: Gould AcademyCollege Remote-Controlled: No AwardeeHigh School Human-Powered: Erie High SchoolCollege Human-Powered: Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo
High School Human-Powered: Parish Episcopal SchoolCollege Human-Powered: University of Central Missouri
FEATHERWEIGHT AWARD: Campbell University
INGENUITY AWARD: Queen’s University
TEAM SPIRIT AWARD: Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo
CRASH & BURN AWARD: University of Alabama, Huntsville
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Gould Academy