Meet the team
We are students from every major, with advisors from industry and sponsors who fund the work. Together we build autonomous robots for the NASA Lunabotics competition.
Subteams
Navigation
Handles autonomous pathfinding and obstacle avoidance, along with sensor integration.
Chassis & Drivetrain
Designs the structural frame and body, plus the power transmission and mobility systems, including motor control.
Regolith
Builds the excavation and material handling systems and works on dust mitigation.
Project Management
Manages the timeline, budget, and procurement and keeps the subteams coordinated.
Technical Marketing
Produces the documentation and competition deliverables and leads outreach and presentations.
Competition
2026-2027 Lunabotics Competition
Return to Kennedy Space Center for the next Lunabotics competition cycle with an improved robot design and expanded capabilities.
Support the teamStudents
Jonah Elliott
student,
Nick Woodburn
student,
Carter Kanes
student,
Nate Ramsey
student,
Cherrie Rose Taltala
student,
Cooper Kelleher
student,
Oliver MacDonald
student,
Nathan Papke
student,
ryanmarty
student,
Cedar Piehl
student,
Kyle Bailey
student,
Evan Wallace
student,
Sarah Smith
student,
Prior seasons
2024-2025
Lunabotics Debut
Lunabotics Debut
First season competing in NASA's Lunabotics Challenge. Designed and built the inaugural Bender robot for autonomous regolith excavation at Kennedy Space Center.
Result: Completed robot inspection and qualification rounds
2025-2026
Field Testing
Field Testing
Refining the excavation system and autonomous navigation. Focus on field testing and reliability improvements ahead of the 2026-2027 competition return.
Sponsors
Musgrove Engineering
Orbiter Sponsor
Advisors
Dr. Steve Swanson
Boise State University
ongoing
Computer Scientist, former NASA astronaut, and Boise State Distinguished Educator in Residence. Dr. Swanson coaches three VIP teams: Autonomous Robotic Systems, NASA SUITS, and NASA Micro-g NExT Challenge.
Oliver MacDonald
Boise State University
ongoing
Robotics & systems engineer, co-founder of QTex AI, and Computing PhD student at Boise State. Oliver is an instructor for the Autonomous Robotics Systems VIP, bringing his experience as a founder and R&D engineering consultant to help build an environment that parallels the experiences students will have when they enter the workforce.
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Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
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Matthew Oberg
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Firmware engineer specializing in real time operating systems and network stacks. Matthew is currently studying for a MS in Computer Science at BSU. He graduated from BSU with a BS in Computer Science and was a member of the Bender ARS team as an undergraduate.