A group of students operating out of a remote village in Odisha, east India, have come third in NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC).

The challenge requires students from across the world to design, build and test a human-powered rover on tough terrain.

The team from Navonmesh Prasar Foundation in Bhubaneswar and their foldable rover stood out from the rest of the competition.

Footage shows the team completing their buggy before testing it out in their village.

Anil Pradhan selected 10 candidates from 800 to join his team which included two school dropouts.

They designed a foldable rover that can carry two astronauts in a 5x5x5 feet space.

Pradhan said: “They had to acquire technical expertise, design components, find vendors to manufacture and assemble the rover in less than eight months.

"The rover’s chain that does not come loose under stress, smooth steering, ability to traverse steep terrain without toppling, impressive soil and liquid extraction mechanism won it the distinction."

Pradhan, who graduated with an engineering degree in 2017, has been working to improve education facilities in remote Indian villages.

This footage was filmed on March 11.

A team of students operating out of a remote village with poor internet connectivity have come third at NASA’s 27th annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC).

HERC tasks US and international student teams to design, build and test a human-powered rover on terrain similar to the rocky bodies in the solar system.

When NASA announced the winners in April, a team put together by Navonmesh Prasar Foundation (NPF) stood third out of 87 contestants.

Anil Pradhan of NPF, which operates out of a remote village near Bhubaneswar in eastern India, created a website ‘Young Tinker’ in 2020 and invited applications from Indian students to take part in the NASA contest.


He selected 10 candidates out of 800 applicants considering their ‘passion rather than prior knowledge or skill.’ The team, which included two school dropouts, put together a rover that could potentially run on the surface of the moon.

They designed all components of the human-powered rover such as wheels, steering, suspension, seat ergonomics and soil extractor from scratch. The foldable rover that can carry two astronauts fits in a 5x5x5 feet space.


“They had to acquire technical expertise, design components, find vendors to manufacture and assemble the rover in less than eight months,” says Anil Pradhan.

The poor internet connection in the village and the logistical problems created by Covid 19 lockdown made their job difficult.

“The rover’s chain that does not come loose under stress, smooth steering, ability to traverse steep terrain without toppling, impressive soil and liquid extraction mechanism won it the distinction,” adds Pradhan.

Pradhan, who graduated with an engineering degree in 2017, has been working to improve education facilities in remote Indian villages.