Sandbox

We plan to use a tent with a footprint of about 20 feet by 40 feet.

This rule is intended to deny the option of designing an excavator specifically to use the bottom of the sandbox or collector for support during nominal operation.

We will be using approximately the same quantity of JSC-1A as was used last year. When considering an autonomous lunar excavation scenario, there will be areas that can be excavated to an indeterminate depth and areas where an obstacle may be encountered at a very shallow depth. For this reason, the excavation hardware should not depend on a specific depth of regolith.

This is not defined intentionally, allowing for the possibility that the surface is not flat or level, much like the surface of the moon. We will be using a preparation process similar to last year.

This is intentionally not defined. While the excavation hardware is permitted to interact with the sides of the sandbox, it should not depend on the sandbox for autonomous operation.

No. This is a change from last year. The intent is that bumping the side does not cause a team to be disqualified, but the excavation hardware cannot be designed to require a sandbox in order to operate. For instance, consider the scenario where an autonomous excavator on the moon does not have a structure (like a sandbox) to depend on for boundaries, but will occasionally have to deal with one anyway (i.e. a steep incline or a very large boulder). Please keep in mind that unsafe activities, including damage to the sandbox will result in early termination of the excavation attempt.

The sandbox will be located under an event tent outdoors (similar to the configuration last year), so the lighting environment will be almost completely dependent on the weather. There isn't any way for us to define this any more specifically.