Storming Robots - MIT/NASA ZeroRobotics Competition Site

MIT/NASA ZeroRobotics Space Programming Tournament for Middle Schools

Storming Robots Team Quark Charm Jr won the FIRST Place of the ISS Final. Team did a Technical Presentation about their work on August 27th.

Here is the recording.

Here is the presenation slide.

2023 Summer

We have 20 members. Our alliance teams consist of teams from two teams from west coast, and one team from Puerto Rico. Event took place on August 3rd. We all watch our work running in the Satellite up on the International Space Station with an Astronaut as the referree. The event viewing is truly inspirational.

Click here to view our Team Portfolio.

Astronaut Warren Hoburg (Woody) refereed the ISS Final.

Astronaut upside down — Woody watching the Satellite Upside Down. Courtesy of ZeroRobotics

Astronaut referee — Woody watching the Satellite from above. Courtesy of ZeroRobotics

2023 Summer - Team Portfolio

Click on the video to watch team's technical presentation.

Click here to view our Team Portfolio.

Time Commitment and attendance

5 weeks commitment – June 26 to July 28. (i.e. class starts on June 26)
10 hours meeting per week:

Two separate groups: - in-person and online group.

Mon to Fri: from 3:30 to 5:30
Must be able to dedicate minimum additional 5 to 10 hours per week to work at their own time.

Gain Eligibility to join this competition opportunity:

If you are one of our current RoboCupJunior Competition team members, you automatically gain eligibility. To Register
For others – Sign up Zero Robotics entrance test.
Tests cover basic geometry and algebra skill, and basic programming logic skill. Should know how to write basic functions, manipulate simple conditional structure, i.e. if/else, loop, simple variables manipulation.
Test date available:

May 6th or 13th (Saturday) from 3:30 to 5:00 PM.
If you are interested, please sign up for test here. Please do note there is $25 fee.
You will receive result in 3-5 business days.

What do students do:

Work in teams.
Programming satellites - control the speed, direction, and rotation of the Astrobee® satellites to solve a specific challenge.
Learn from astronauts and industry professionals about how they can become involved in the space industry as students and as the future workforce.
Strategy development in the realm of Space Engineering.
Compete nationally in a tournament where Astrobee simulators complete a mission developed based on NASA’s current research.
If advanced to the Final (in August), teams’ code will run on the actual satellite on ISS.
Teams face off in virtual trials to test their algorithms. Teams that make it through the virtual simulations to the finals compete in a live tournament where astronauts load student-developed code onto the satellites onboard the ISS. Astronauts then serve as referees in the finals, and everything is streamed in real time to student viewers on Earth.

Other logistics:

7/6: Tentative possible online field day (dictated by MIT, not SR). Attendance is optional.
Intense code submission schedule: every other week.

7/10, 14, 21 (tentative)
7/21: Final code submission. Semi-Finalist will advance to the Final.
The Final is an on-board IIS competition: in August (TBD). Teams will gather at a location to watch the gam run by astronaut. In the past, it was in MIT. They are currently seeking partnership for more local facilities which are equipped to share the broadcast, etc.

1st couple of weeks in August - LIVE International Space Station Finals ( Subject to change by NASA)