QLET

Get our roversto Huntsville

Sponsor NASA’s Ingenuity winners. Queen’s Lunar Exploration Team builds rovers for NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge.

Partner with QLETSee the track record

187

days until HERC 2027 opens in Huntsville, Alabama, April 21–24.

NASA HERC, dates may change(opens in a new tab)

Sunrise over a lunar plain. Generated imagery.

Ingenuity Award,two years running

We won NASA’s Ingenuity Award in 2025, then won it again in 2026.

2025

NASA Ingenuity Award

HERC 2025 field: 75 teams, from the U.S. and 16 other nations.

NASA, 2025(opens in a new tab)

2026

NASA Ingenuity Award, second year running

HERC 2026 field: 42 teams and more than 500 students.

NASA, 2026(opens in a new tab)

Lunar dust settling in sunlight. Generated imagery.

Only

Canadian team at HERC 2026

Smith Engineering, 2026(opens in a new tab)

NASA gives its Ingenuity Award to the boldest idea at HERC, in any division. Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

Also in 2025: the Pit Crew Award, Human-Powered College/University Division. NASA, 2025(opens in a new tab)

NASA’s lunarrover challenge

HERC is NASA’s student lunar-rover competition, tied to its Artemis program. NASA, 2026 winners(opens in a new tab) Teams design, build and test a rover that people pilot or operators drive by remote control.

An Apollo 15 astronaut beside the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Moon, a dark mountain behind.
Archival photo. Apollo 15, 1971, not our rover. NASA/David Scott, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

2 divisions

Built by students

A course with tasks

Illustrative course diagramA top-down drawing of an obstacle course on lunar ground. A route runs from a start marker, around craters and boulder fields, through 3 task stops to a finish bar.StartTaskTaskTaskFinish
Illustrative. An invented course to show the idea, not the real HERC layout.

HERC 2027 is April 21–24, 2027 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA HERC, dates may change(opens in a new tab)

4 rovers in 2 years

1 human-powered rover in 2025, then 3 remote-control rovers in 2026.

MDA Space LaunchPad(opens in a new tab)Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

Schematic of Moe deploying Eenie and MeenieMoe, the larger rover, stands with a ramp lowered at each end. Eenie has driven down one ramp to scoop soil; Meenie has driven down the other to sample water.MoeEenieMeenieSoilWater
Schematic, not to scale. Shapes are illustrative, not the real rovers.
rovers, working tasks in parallel
3
operators: one for Moe, one for Eenie and Meenie
2
on the course to get it all done
12min

Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

Remote-control fleet, 2026

Won NASA’s Ingenuity Award at HERC 2026. Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

Human-powered rover, 2025

MDA Space LaunchPad(opens in a new tab)

Won the Pit Crew Award, Human-Powered College/University Division, at HERC 2025. NASA, 2025 winners(opens in a new tab)

Next: HERC 2027

One slot per division. Specs, and which divisions we enter, go here once the designs are frozen.

  • Human-powered rover, 2027.In design. We’ll publish the specs once the design is frozen.

    What sponsor support goes into: materials, printed wheels, testing.

  • Remote-controlled rover, 2027.In design. We’ll publish the specs once the design is frozen.

    What sponsor support goes into: electronics, sample tools, testing.

An astronaut in a white spacesuit drives Apollo 17’s Lunar Roving Vehicle, a four-wheeled open frame with orange fenders, across grey lunar soil below a sunlit hill and a black sky.
Archival photo. Apollo 17’s Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Moon, December 1972. NASA’s rover, not ours. Photo: NASA / Harrison H. Schmitt, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

From capstone to 2 Ingenuity Awards

QLET started as one student’s capstone proposal. Two years later it’s a design team with 2 NASA Ingenuity Awards. Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab) NASA, 2026 winners(opens in a new tab)

A printer laying a wheel-like part. Generated imagery, not our workshop.

  1. Fall 2024

    A capstone project

    Brandon Lewis proposes a HERC rover as a fourth-year mechanical engineering capstone.

    Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

  2. October 2024

    3 days to a proposal

    The team writes its NASA proposal in 3 days. NASA accepts it in October.

    MDA Space LaunchPad(opens in a new tab)

  3. 7 months

    Built around internships

    7 months of building, while the team works full-time internships.

    MDA Space LaunchPad(opens in a new tab)

  4. HERC 2025

    2 NASA awards

    The Ingenuity Award and the Pit Crew Award, Human-Powered College/University Division.

    NASA, 2025 winners(opens in a new tab)

  5. April 2026

    Ingenuity Award, again

    3 remote-control rovers, the only Canadian team in the field, and a second Ingenuity Award.

    Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

“I’ve learned as much in the past two years from this team as I have in four to five years of classwork.”

Brandon Lewis, Chief Technical Officer Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

“We had quite a bit of national pride to go down there as the only team representing Canada.”

Brandon Lewis, Chief Technical Officer Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)
Placeholder. Team photo, coming

What your company gets

Early access to engineers who build to deadlines, and your name on a NASA stage. If you want it, a technical problem your team helps us solve.

Who has backed us

Archival photographs: Carol M. Highsmith; NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; NASA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

  1. Hire engineers who ship hardware

    Our members design, print and drive real rovers to a NASA deadline. Meet them before they graduate, at a recruiting session on campus or at your office.

    The 2025 rover went from a 3-day proposal to a finished machine in 7 months, built around full-time internships. MDA Space LaunchPad(opens in a new tab) The team grew out of a fourth-year mechanical engineering capstone at Smith Engineering. Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

    Wheel tracks in lunar soil. Generated imagery, not our rover’s.

  2. Your name at a NASA competition

    Your logo travels on the rover, the team kit and this site, all the way to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

    HERC 2026 brought 42 teams and more than 500 students. NASA, 2026 winners(opens in a new tab) We were the only Canadian team there. Smith Engineering, May 2026(opens in a new tab)

    The rocket park at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville: tall white Saturn rockets and smaller missiles against a cloudy blue sky.
    The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, 2010. Not our photo.

  3. Work on a real problem with us

    Give your engineers a rover problem to mentor: wheels, sampling tools, electronics. That’s how MDA Space worked with us.

    In 2025, MDA Space’s rover team guided us through its LaunchPad program. MDA Space LaunchPad(opens in a new tab)

    Black-and-white photo of an early rover test vehicle with large tyres climbing over boulders, a driver gripping its roll bar.
    A NASA wheel test, 1969. Not ours.

  4. A story your people will share

    A Canadian student team, a NASA award two years running, and a rover your sponsorship helped build. It writes your next post for you.

    NASA Ingenuity Award, HERC 2025 and HERC 2026. NASA, 2026 winners(opens in a new tab)

    Close view of an Apollo 17 astronaut beside the lunar rover, its wire-mesh wheel and orange fender in the foreground.
    Apollo 17, 1972. Not our team.

4 ways to partner

Pick a level, or give parts, machining or software instead. We’ll shape any tier around what your company wants.

All amounts in Canadian dollars, for one season ending at HERC 2027.

Supporter

$250

For alumni, friends and small firms who want to help.

  • Your name on this site
  • Thank-you post on our social channels
Email about Supporter

Launch

$1,000

Your logo on the jersey and this site for the whole season.

Everything in Supporter, plus:

  • Your logo on this site and the deck
  • Your logo on the team jersey
Email about Launch

Orbital

$2,500

Your logo on the rover in Huntsville, and first access to our engineers.

Our pick for most companies.

Everything in Launch, plus:

  • Your logo on the rover
  • Recruiting session with the team
Email about Orbital

Lunar

$5,000+

Your name on a rover subsystem, and the rover at your office for a day.

Everything in Orbital, plus:

  • Rover demo day at your office
  • A rover subsystem named for your company
Email about Lunar

In-kind

Give what you make or do. We credit in-kind support at its fair value, on the same tiers.

  • Materials and components
  • Machining and fabrication
  • Software licences
  • Travel to Huntsville
Offer in-kind support

Where your money goes

Most of it becomes the rover. The rest gets the rover and the team to Huntsville.

$40,000

CAD, to build, test and race at HERC 2027

  1. Materials and componentsFrame stock, drivetrain parts, electronics, sensors, and the carbon-fibre nylon we print wheels from.
    35%$14,000
  2. Travel and lodging to HuntsvilleGetting the competing team from Kingston, Ontario to Huntsville, Alabama and housing them for race week.
    25%$10,000
  3. Manufacturing and toolingMachining, printer time and the jigs and tools a build needs.
    20%$8,000
  4. Registration and shippingCompetition fees and shipping the rovers to Alabama and back.
    10%$4,000
  5. Testing and sparesTest days, and the spare wheels and parts we carry to the course.
    10%$4,000
Illustrative. Placeholder shares of a $40,000 CAD season, until the team signs its budget off.

Huntsville, April 21, 2027

187

days until HERC 2027 opens in Huntsville

NASA HERC, dates may change(opens in a new tab)

Our 2025 rover took 7 months to build. Support that arrives this fall buys the parts we test in the spring. MDA Space LaunchPad(opens in a new tab)

Partner with QLET

  1. Done:

    September 17, 2026

    Proposals due

    The deadline for HERC 2027 proposals to NASA.

    NASA HERC(opens in a new tab)

  2. Next:

    November 2026

    Design review

    Concepts frozen and checked against NASA’s rules before we cut material.

  3. Planned:

    January–February 2027

    Build

    Frames, drivetrains and electronics built. Wheels printed.

  4. Planned:

    March 2027

    Test

    Drive days on rough ground, timed runs, fixes, spares.

  5. Planned:

    Early April 2027

    Ship to Huntsville

    Rovers packed and on the road to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

  6. Planned:

    April 21–24, 2027

    HERC 2027

    Race week at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama. NASA says dates may change.

    NASA HERC(opens in a new tab)

Proposals and race week are NASA’s dates. The ones between are our plan, still to be confirmed.

Earth over a lunar ridge. Generated imagery, not NASA footage.

Email us about HERC 2027

sponsorship@example.com

Tell us what your company wants from a partnership. We’ll come back with a plan built around it.

Queen’s Lunar Exploration Team, Smith Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

Partner with QLETDownload the deck (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

Follow the build on Instagram and LinkedIn: links coming.

187 days until HERC 2027. The sooner you’re in, the more of the rover you’re on. NASA HERC, dates may change(opens in a new tab)

1 / 10QLETPresent