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Free Recreational / Games

Presented By: Center for Entrepreneurship

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Innovation Challenge

Design and build to win major prizes!

"Promotional poster for an “Innovation Challenge” event with a space exploration theme. The background shows a star-filled sky and a large moon above a rocky lunar surface. On the right, an astronaut stands on the moon holding a blue University of Michigan flag with a yellow “M.” A small rover with a Michigan “M” logo sits nearby. At the top center is a lightbulb graphic styled like a rocket launching upward above the title “Innovation Challenge.” Event details read: “March 25 | 6–9 PM, Duderstadt Center, Basement.” A highlighted line states: “Showcase Your Ideas, Shape a Real Space Mission!” Listed challenge topics include: “Lunar Time Capsule,” “Micro-Robot Deployment System,” and “Lander Interfaces & Systems.” A section titled “Who can participate?” states: “All U-M students! Interdisciplinary teams welcome.” Another section, “Why join?” lists: “Cash prizes,” “Portfolio opportunity,” and “Feedback from space experts.” Additional text reads: “Live Demos & Judging — Build with CAD, 3D Printing, VR & More! "Promotional poster for an “Innovation Challenge” event with a space exploration theme. The background shows a star-filled sky and a large moon above a rocky lunar surface. On the right, an astronaut stands on the moon holding a blue University of Michigan flag with a yellow “M.” A small rover with a Michigan “M” logo sits nearby. At the top center is a lightbulb graphic styled like a rocket launching upward above the title “Innovation Challenge.” Event details read: “March 25 | 6–9 PM, Duderstadt Center, Basement.” A highlighted line states: “Showcase Your Ideas, Shape a Real Space Mission!” Listed challenge topics include: “Lunar Time Capsule,” “Micro-Robot Deployment System,” and “Lander Interfaces & Systems.” A section titled “Who can participate?” states: “All U-M students! Interdisciplinary teams welcome.” Another section, “Why join?” lists: “Cash prizes,” “Portfolio opportunity,” and “Feedback from space experts.” Additional text reads: “Live Demos & Judging — Build with CAD, 3D Printing, VR & More!
"Promotional poster for an “Innovation Challenge” event with a space exploration theme. The background shows a star-filled sky and a large moon above a rocky lunar surface. On the right, an astronaut stands on the moon holding a blue University of Michigan flag with a yellow “M.” A small rover with a Michigan “M” logo sits nearby. At the top center is a lightbulb graphic styled like a rocket launching upward above the title “Innovation Challenge.” Event details read: “March 25 | 6–9 PM, Duderstadt Center, Basement.” A highlighted line states: “Showcase Your Ideas, Shape a Real Space Mission!” Listed challenge topics include: “Lunar Time Capsule,” “Micro-Robot Deployment System,” and “Lander Interfaces & Systems.” A section titled “Who can participate?” states: “All U-M students! Interdisciplinary teams welcome.” Another section, “Why join?” lists: “Cash prizes,” “Portfolio opportunity,” and “Feedback from space experts.” Additional text reads: “Live Demos & Judging — Build with CAD, 3D Printing, VR & More!
In 2017, University of Michigan students launched the 100-Year Space Mission, an ambitious effort to preserve the voices of the U-M community for a century. A CubeSat was designed and built, but technical and regulatory barriers prevented the mission from launching.

The archive still exists. The CubeSat still exists. The engineering challenge remains open.

This year’s MPowered Innovation Challenge invites student teams to design a CubeSat-class robotic system capable of:

• Emerging from a spacecraft near or on the lunar surface
• Delivering a U-M time capsule to a designated location
• Planting a University of Michigan flag
• Capturing and returning video or images documenting the deployment

This is a conceptual systems engineering challenge grounded in real aerospace constraints.

Teams will be expected to:
• Define and justify Size, Weight, and Power, also known as SWaP
• Consider launch cost implications based on mass
• Design a communications strategy to return images or video
• Defend engineering tradeoffs clearly and realistically
• Present a physical, digital, or hybrid demonstration

Why Participate?
• Compete for cash prizes
• Showcase your work to faculty and space technology experts
• Build a high-impact portfolio project
• Contribute ideas that could inform a near-term lunar mission concept

Prizes will be awarded for:
• Best in Show
• Best SWaP Optimization, Feasible Design
• Best Communications Concept

Important Dates
Teaser released: February 25
Challenge announcement: March 4
Team registration deadline: March 14
Competition night: March 25, 6 to 9 PM

This challenge is open to students across engineering, robotics, computer science, design, business, and beyond.

Start with constraints. Design within them. Defend your tradeoffs. We look forward to seeing what you build.

Any questions? Contact MPowered Innovation Challenge Director Bodhi White bodhes@umich.edu

We Will Reach Out Within 72 Hours of Form Submission.

More details about the challenge and RSVP info: https://myumi.ch/VVjNW
"Promotional poster for an “Innovation Challenge” event with a space exploration theme. The background shows a star-filled sky and a large moon above a rocky lunar surface. On the right, an astronaut stands on the moon holding a blue University of Michigan flag with a yellow “M.” A small rover with a Michigan “M” logo sits nearby. At the top center is a lightbulb graphic styled like a rocket launching upward above the title “Innovation Challenge.” Event details read: “March 25 | 6–9 PM, Duderstadt Center, Basement.” A highlighted line states: “Showcase Your Ideas, Shape a Real Space Mission!” Listed challenge topics include: “Lunar Time Capsule,” “Micro-Robot Deployment System,” and “Lander Interfaces & Systems.” A section titled “Who can participate?” states: “All U-M students! Interdisciplinary teams welcome.” Another section, “Why join?” lists: “Cash prizes,” “Portfolio opportunity,” and “Feedback from space experts.” Additional text reads: “Live Demos & Judging — Build with CAD, 3D Printing, VR & More! "Promotional poster for an “Innovation Challenge” event with a space exploration theme. The background shows a star-filled sky and a large moon above a rocky lunar surface. On the right, an astronaut stands on the moon holding a blue University of Michigan flag with a yellow “M.” A small rover with a Michigan “M” logo sits nearby. At the top center is a lightbulb graphic styled like a rocket launching upward above the title “Innovation Challenge.” Event details read: “March 25 | 6–9 PM, Duderstadt Center, Basement.” A highlighted line states: “Showcase Your Ideas, Shape a Real Space Mission!” Listed challenge topics include: “Lunar Time Capsule,” “Micro-Robot Deployment System,” and “Lander Interfaces & Systems.” A section titled “Who can participate?” states: “All U-M students! Interdisciplinary teams welcome.” Another section, “Why join?” lists: “Cash prizes,” “Portfolio opportunity,” and “Feedback from space experts.” Additional text reads: “Live Demos & Judging — Build with CAD, 3D Printing, VR & More!
"Promotional poster for an “Innovation Challenge” event with a space exploration theme. The background shows a star-filled sky and a large moon above a rocky lunar surface. On the right, an astronaut stands on the moon holding a blue University of Michigan flag with a yellow “M.” A small rover with a Michigan “M” logo sits nearby. At the top center is a lightbulb graphic styled like a rocket launching upward above the title “Innovation Challenge.” Event details read: “March 25 | 6–9 PM, Duderstadt Center, Basement.” A highlighted line states: “Showcase Your Ideas, Shape a Real Space Mission!” Listed challenge topics include: “Lunar Time Capsule,” “Micro-Robot Deployment System,” and “Lander Interfaces & Systems.” A section titled “Who can participate?” states: “All U-M students! Interdisciplinary teams welcome.” Another section, “Why join?” lists: “Cash prizes,” “Portfolio opportunity,” and “Feedback from space experts.” Additional text reads: “Live Demos & Judging — Build with CAD, 3D Printing, VR & More!

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