India's space agency wants to take a peek inside kids' brains for...

The Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO has initiated a Robotics Challenge, inviting ideas and designs for space robots from the student community. The goal is to employ these robotic rovers in future space missions, following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 Vikram on the lunar surface. With a focus on exploring additional missions to the moon and other celestial bodies, ISRO aims to harness innovative solutions from students. Under the tagline, “Let’s build a space robot,” registrations for the challenge will commence on November 20 and conclude on December 15, 2023. The challenge aims to establish a standardized platform for delving into the realm of space robotics, fostering skills such as communication, collaboration, inquiry, problem-solving, and flexibility among participating students. ISRO intends to collaborate with students to co-develop future technologies applicable to space robotics. The top three teams will be rewarded based on evaluations by the jury and the fair play attitude exhibited by the teams. The first-place winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, the second-place winner Rs 3 lakh, and the third-place winner Rs 2 lakh. Additionally, ISRO will award a consolation prize of Rs 1 lakh each to two participants. The ISRO Robotics Challenge Day is scheduled for August 2024 at the URSC Bengaluru Campus. The challenge encompasses tasks such as identifying, formulating, and solving complex engineering problems using mathematics and science. Participants will also be required to formulate and conduct experiments, and analyse and interpret test and analytical data. ISRO announced the Robotics Challenge on X, formerly known as Twitter, inviting India’s student community to design and implement a space robot, encompassing both hardware and software aspects. The challenge serves as a platform to showcase innovative ideas, receive rewards, and collaborate in the ever-evolving field of space missions. In a blog post, ISRO highlighted that the challenge aims to leverage the creative thinking of the youth of India for ISRO’s interplanetary missions through the solicitation of innovative ideas and designs for robotic rovers.