The National Aeronautics and Space Association holds a design challenge for US Students to create a robot to navigate a simulated version of the surface of the Moon and collect samples. Teams are scored based on a combination of the volume and mass of the robot as well as the energy consumed. The teams also develop a Systems Engineering Paper that holds a section of their score. Iowa State’s team had the opportunity to compete in this competition, and the Cardinal Space Mining team achieved victory.
Anna Overmann, a senior in industrial technology (ITEC) and member of the team, shared about her role in the team’s victory.
“I helped lead the team through design decisions and processes, through manufacturing the robot and repairs,” said Overmann.
Overmann stepped into the role of the Mechanical Lead for the team, focusing on the robot’s mechanics and physical aspects. Her tasks as Mechanical Lead aligned with her experiences in the ITEC program, where she found her passion for design execution. That passion was encouraged in her manufacturing lab, which gave her hands-on experience with software and materials. She joined the Cardinal Space Mining Club to foster those skills.
“I got involved with Cardinal Space Mining after the manufacturing lab to really develop my technical skills, CAD and design,” said Overmann.
Along with mechanical skills, Overmann learned more about how to manage people and make important decisions to achieve the “wow” factor that the team needed. These experiences gave her applicable skills to build her future career.
“It was an amazing run. We’re so proud of how well it went, and it was so exciting to see what we built perform to that level. Beyond the competition performance, we’re proud of what we accomplished as a team,” said Overmann.
A passion fostered in the ITEC program led to out-of-this-world results and career-building experiences.