SANTO DOMINGO.- The Apollo 27 team from the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC) won three awards this Saturday in the 2026 competition of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
In the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, the Dominican team won the following awards: Social Media, Industry Stem Engagement, and Team Spirit, the latter for the fourth consecutive year.
Six awards in 2025
In 2025, the INTEC team broke a record in the history of the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, winning six awards in a single edition, a feat unmatched by any other participating university. These included first place in the remote-controlled rover category, making them the first university to achieve this; in the same category, they also received the Task Challenge Award and the Project Review Award.
In the Human Powered category they received second place overall, and the STEM Engagement Award, for the second consecutive year each, and the Team Spirit Award, for the third consecutive year.
In 2020, they received the System Safety Award for designing the best safety system for a rover. In 2022, they earned second place worldwide in the STEM Engagement Award for their work promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
In 2023, they received the "Most Improved Award" and the "Spirit Award" for their attitude, resilience, and teamwork. In 2024, they received second place in the competition and the Spirit Award.
NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge brings together universities from around the world each year to design and build vehicles similar to those that could be used on the Moon or Mars. Participating institutions include universities such as Campbell University, Florida Atlantic University, Queen's University in Canada, and South Dakota State University, as well as international centers like ATLAS SkillTech University in India. The University of Alabama has achieved significant rankings in the competition.
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