Competition Teams

Campbell NASA Human Exploration Rover Team (HERC)

The Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) is a NASA-sponsored international competition focused on the design of human-powered off-road rovers. Students participating  in the CU Human Exploration Rover Team (HERT) design human-powered off-road rovers capable of taking on various obstacles yet able to fold into a five-foot cube, along with preparing tools and equipment to face challenging scientific sampling and other simulated off-world tasks that NASA devises. Team members gain experience with design, fabrication, project management, and teamwork. Campbell competes against colleges from all over the globe at the annual HERC competition at NASA’s Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, AL.

Founded in 2017, Campbell Engineering began competing in NASA’s challenge for the first time during the 2018-2019 academic year, and has since won multiple international awards, including:

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2025 – Overall Competition 1st Place
Awarded to the top overall team. Design reviews, educational STEM engagement, safety, and a successful excursion will all factor into the Overall Winner.

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2025 – Overall Competition Featherweight
Awarded to the team that best addressed the ongoing space exploration challenge of weight management, delivering an innovative approach to safe minimization of rover weight. (Only awarded to one team overall.)

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2025 – Project Review Award
Awarded to the team that is deemed to have the best combination of written reviews and formal presentations.

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2024 – Overall Competition 3rd Place
For over all excellence in design, documentation, presentation and performance, Collegiate category

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2024 – Pit Crew Award
Awarded to the team as judged by the pit crew that best demonstrates resourcefulness, motivation, good sportsmanship, and team spirit in repairing or working on their rover while the teams are in the pit area.

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2022 – Task Challenge Award
Awarded to the team that best demonstrates a multi-tool design for the liquid sample retrieval tasks.

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2022 – Overall Competition 3rd Place
For over excellence in design, documentation, presentation and performance, Collegiate category

NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2021 – Project Review Award
Awarded to the team that is deemed to have the best combination of written reviews and formal presentations.

Contact

For more information on Campbell’s Human Exploration Rover Team (HERC), contact Faculty Advisor, Dr. Lee K. Rynearson.

Campbell NASA Human Exploration Remote Operations Team (HERO)

The Human Exploration Remote Operations (HERO) is also a NASA-sponsored international competition that is a remote-control rover division (ROVR).  This new division held its first competition in April 2025 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Teams design, build, and compete over challenging terrains that simulate lunar and Martian surfaces.

In their first year of competition, our HERO team won two awards.

2025 Human Exploration Rover Challenge – Overall competition 2^nd Place for the college remote-controlled division

2025 Human Exploration Rover Challenge – Most Improved Performance 1^stPlace in the college remote-controlled division and received $500.00.
Awarded to the team that demonstrated the greatest point gain over their Day One competition score.

Contact

For more information on Campbell’s Human Exploration Remote Operations Team (HERO), contact Faculty Advisor, Dr. Mohsen Manesh.

Campbell’s Future City Team is the (only) pilot collegiate team in the nation for the ULRI OREE and DiscoverE Future City College Internship Program. The program aims to increase safety standards literacy, education, and consensus-driven interdisciplinary collaboration to meet the next generation of grand challenges in sustainability and safety. This design and research experience is embedded in a remote internship at ULRI and other partner organizations for teams of postsecondary students, coached by a faculty sponsor. Each multidisciplinary team of 5 students includes majors from engineering, mathematics, sciences, business, law, communications, education, and humanities, with a faculty mentor from a STEM program. Project deliverables include an initial project plan, Continuous City Improvement Plan with a presentation and pitch, final project plan synopsis and reflection on the learning experience

Campbell’s 2025 Team is partnering with the City of Raleigh, Duke Energy, and Underwriter’s Laboratories (the competition sponsor) to design solutions for electrifying the city of the future. Each of our five students on the team receive a Fellowship from Underwriter’s Laboratory.

Contact

For more information on the Future City Team, contact Dr. Jenna P. Carpenter.