NEW: ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher expressed his respect and interest in the team and their idea to create such a competition in Europe by email on 7.4.2025. Negotiations are already underway.

Reports of the Rovernauts (link)

Finally, they are going on their way to the USA again. Feelings are mixed, much has changed in world politics. If you think back during the flight across the Atlantic, then all the signs suddenly fit together. As the leader of an international team, you have felt disadvantaged and excluded since the summer of 2017. Now it fits. It was DT's first year in office. Since then, this competition has not been as fun as before - and it has been steadily losing educational quality and creative joy since then. While teamwork and cooperation were promoted as core values of NASA until 2017, more and more rules have crept in since then to prevent exactly this from happening to international teams. This also lost the cohesion and willingness to cooperate, as other educational institutions naturally did not have the insight into the inner workings at NASA that von Puttkamer once showed me.

I have tried to keep this away from the students, but this year I have been open with them, a fact that is not easy. This new approach is already clearly measurable in the immensely increased effort to inspire and win over team members. In the meantime, it is not so much the students who turn out to be unsuitable, but above all parents and schools who think they have to know everything better. Thin-skinned is that. In spite of everything, tearing down bridges – no, not with me. We build bridges and maintain them as best we can.
So you don't notice anything of the customs roar from the White House here when you arrive. The roar is limited to a storm around us with everything you could wish for: strongly wobbling plane, slumping down 4000 meters into almost low flight, thunderstorms, heavy rain and finally flooding. A tornado also raged in the neighboring states. There were deaths.

But the living here in the USA, which now appears so different to the outside world, continues to take its usual course. The people of Alabama are courteous, friendly and relaxed, as always. Every now and then you talk casually and dismissively about "some bangers you had to experience", laugh again and move on. Or you avoid the conversation altogether.

So we arrive at Huntsville Airport at night after a 24-hour journey in sultry warmth, are welcomed by NASA engineer Terry, get our rental car and fall into bed dead tired after a 20-minute drive. There was thunderstorm all night and that didn't stop much until Monday night.

We started with a minimum of 2 students and still have 11-year-old Jesco with us. Although he does not have the required age of at least 14 years, he can be considered a full-fledged team member thanks to his technical experience and practice. He is simply needed, as you can read from his reports.

During the preparation for this race, I tried to rely on our international relations as well. Before the pandemic, I traveled around the world several times as the one who had opened the door to NASA for international educational institutions together with Prof. von Puttkamer. But the 1st and now 2nd term of office of DT are already showing significant damage, also in the regulations for this competition, which resonates with the desire for a new own and, above all, fair competition for all teams in Europe. It's my 18th participation and this is the 26th team after 46 rovers built with students. So it's not that we're inexperienced.

Nevertheless, the integration of a comrade-in-arms from Brazil ultimately failed because of her parents, who do not have this international experience and are obsessed with fear. But the involvement of Hazel, an 18-year-old student from Washington DC, worked. She attends McKinley Technical High School as our long-standing educational partner in the USA and wants to become an engineer. Her father works for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

We only met Hazel here in Alabama, on Monday. But that happened quickly, that's what young people are known for. The two girls, Cosma and Hazel, are the same age and get along at least as well as I do with their father. And so, for the 18th time in a row, an adventure begins that has long since determined our lives over 3 decades, produced many excellent young people and yet is not spared from all unthinkable ups and downs. Cosma fell flat into bed with food poisoning on Tuesday, Hazel struggled with a migraine on Wednesday. Somehow it feels like the last participation for the first time, but that can only be a feeling.

We have been fighting here for 18 years and now once again "Against All Odds".

So the 4 students and 2 fathers assembled the rover on Monday in a record time of 7 hours. We used the sunny Tuesday and Wednesday for tuning and photo sessions, a round trip and the evening for a dinner with US friends. All of this welded the team together.

Tomorrow, NASA will open the gates of the NASA Rover Challenge for the 31st time. We will set up our pit lane at 12 o'clock, because a thunderstorm is forecast for the afternoon. Then there will be a VIP dinner for all teams under the hanging moon rocket Saturn V. The race will then take place on Friday and Saturday, which will also be broadcast live on Youtube. The award ceremony will take place on Saturday evening, April 12, i.e. Space Day with the 64th anniversary of the Gagarin launch.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for the team!

Live broadcasts:
Live Stream Race 1: https://www.youtube.com/live/QVrDWzvyFFk?si=oA8IYdb7CY17zS00
Live Stream Race 2: https://www.youtube.com/live/6EIgTYwUHiA?si=ybFonBaCboL-xOkh
Livestream Award Ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/live/U8hfuWji528?si=VCNzncSIxSM_dxhn

Activity report Rovernauts on HERC 2025 (US trip)

Saturday, 5.4.25, outbound journey (24h)
06:00 Start at Leipzig Airport
08:50 connection flight in Frankfurt
11-18:00 Chicago (local time)
20:00 Huntsville Al
22:00 Apartment
23:00 Night's rest

Sunday, 6.4.25, Preparation
-Sleep in, during thunderstorms
-8 a.m. shopping at Wal☆Mart
-9 a.m. breakfast-10 a.m. prepare workshop
-1 p.m. noon-2 p.m. Hazel comes, conversations
-4 p.m. round trip Monte Sano, see rocket, TV Channel 31, Puttkamer-House
-5 p.m. City Center with Big Spring Park, ducks, catfish, skate board, downtown
-7 p.m. dinner, reports, bed

Monday, 7.4.25, assembly of the moonbuggy
8h Getting up
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Hazel is coming, departure
9:30 a.m. Start of assembly in the workshop
- Installation of a new spring in the front axle
- Replacement of the old rubber rings on the wheels
- Chains, seats, lamps
4:30 p.m. finished after 7 hours
5:00 p.m. shopping
9:00 p.m. Dinner

Tuesday, 8.4.25, Completion of the Moonbuggy & Photos
- Sun since 6 a.m.
- getting up, having breakfast
- 9 a.m. meeting with Hazel, Cosma is sick, has to stay at home
- 9:30 a.m. at the workshop
- checking and tightening everything, fenders, seats, chain swapping
- mounting cameras, flexing new camera mount, welding, drilling, painting
- interviews done
- around 12 o'clock everything ready, test drive in the yard, cleaning up with cameras
- cleaning up the workshop, packing everything for the race
- suitcase in car
- moonbuggy on trailer from chip
- Leander drives with Chip in the jeep
- 3-4 p.m. photo session at the Space Center
- round trip to the race site, still everything construction site
- 4:30 p.m. at the house, changing, repairing skateboard
- 6:30-7-3 p.m. at the Tennessee River, (Ditto Landing) with sunset and nice weather
- 8 p.m. back and reports

Wednesday, 9.4.2025. Excursions & photo sessions, media work
- 7 h getting up
- 8 h breakfast, meeting, media work
- 10 h departure
- 10:30 - 11 h Space Schop
- 11 - 12h Photo Session Team Portraits
- 12:15 - 12:30h from Braun Research Hall
- 13 h Lunch- Media Work
- 18-20 h Buffet 88

Thursday 10.04.2025, Set-up of the pit lane
- 11h Meeting at the workshop for transport
- 12h Set-up of the team stand

NASA-Event-Schedule
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm Team Check-in and team pit area
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Teams Walk the Course Aviation Challenge
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Mandatory Team Competition, Expectations & Safety Briefing
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm National Space Club Team Dinner, Saturn V Hall – Davidson Center

Friday, April 11 Race 1
7:00 am – 4:00 pm Rover Mission/Excursion
7:00 am Readiness Reviews
7:30 am HERC Excursion Day 1 Aviation Challenge
8:00 am HERC Sponsorship/VIP Breakfast
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Launch Window Rovernauts, Team #254
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Team Lunch Served
5:00 pm HERC Excursion Course closes

Saturday, April 12 Race 2
7:00 am – 3:30 pm Rover Safety Checks Aviation Challenge
7:30 am HERC – Excursion Day 2 Aviation Challenge
10:00 am – 11:00 pm Launch Window Rovernauts, Team #254
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Team Lunch Served
3:00 HERC Excursion Course closes
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Awards Ceremony Space Camp Operations building, USSRC

Sonntag, 13.04.2025, disassembly