AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As humans plan a return to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program, experts are looking towards college students for a little help.

The 2026 Lunabotics Challenge kicks off this week, giving students a chance to make their mark on the moon.

This year, college students are asked to create robots that can build berms, a raised barrier, made out of regolith, or moon dust. According to NASA, these berms are need to provide blast protection during lunar landings, create shade for fuel and shielding around nuclear reactors.

“We are excited to continue the Lunabotics competition for universities as NASA develops new Moon to Mars technologies for the Artemis program,” said Robert Mueller, a NASA senior technologist, in a press release.

Robots built by the teams must manipula

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