NEW ORLEANS, LA., April 11th, 2002 -- New Orleans college and high school students are competing Friday and Saturday (April 12 & 13) in the “Great Moonbuggy Race” at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The students are members of Engineering Explorer Post 314 sponsored by Lockheed Martin. As their project this year, the scouts built three moonbuggies that they’re racing against 68 other teams. Last year the high school team finished second and fifth, and the college scouts finished fifth in the competition.

** Assignment Editors/Producers -- NASA will feed “live” interviews and race footage in 10-minute windows from 3 to 7 p.m. (Central Time) on both Friday and Saturday on Telstar 5, Transponder 5, C-Band at 97 degrees west longitude, frequency 3880 MHz, audio 6.8 MHz. To schedule a feed from one of the New Orleans teams, call Camille Sevier at 256-544-2188 or Jack Robertson at 256-544-1517 in Huntsville, Ala. The phone number of the satellite truck is 256-864-7830.

Each moonbuggy must be pedal-driven by one male and one female scout and must fold up into a space no more than 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 4 feet long to simulate the original moonbuggy. The Explorer scouts race over a ? mile obstacle course of simulated moonscape terrain that test students’ design and engineering skills as well as their physical endurance. The moonbuggy race is a timed competition.

The students represent the following schools:

• University of New Orleans  
• Brother Martin High School
• De La Salle High School
• Eleanor McMain Magnet Secondary School
• Faith Christian Academy
• Grace King High School
• Holy Cross High School
• Immaculata High School
• John Ehret High School
• McDonogh No. 35 High School
• Mt. Carmel High School
• Redeemer-Seton High School
• Slidell High School
• St. Bernard High School
• Xavier Prep. High School

Lockheed Martin designs and builds the Space Shuttle External Tank at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Harry Wadsworth, 504-257-0094 or harry.wadsworth@maf.nasa.gov