WVU’s Artificial Intelligence Club earns fifth place nationally in NASA’s Lunar Autonomy Challenge

WVU's Artificial Intelligence Club secured fifth place in NASA's prestigious Lunar Autonomy Challenge after spending months designing navigation software for simulated lunar missions (Graphic illustration/Mackenzie Randall).

As first-time participants in NASA’s prestigious Lunar Autonomy Challenge, engineering and computer science students from West Virginia University proved to be bold competitors in the world of artificial intelligence.

Story by Mackenzie Randall, Social Media Specialist

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

After months of rigorous competition, the Artificial Intelligence Club at the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources has proudly claimed fifth place overall in the Lunar Autonomy Challenge. The competition, which spanned from November 2024 through May 2025, tasked student teams with designing autonomous navigation software for a simulated lunar mission using a digital twin of NASA’s ISRU Pilot Excavator. This cutting-edge robot will play a critical role in future Moon missions, capable of performing complex tasks without human control.

“Participating in the competition had a tremendous impact on my academic and career goals,” said Conor Quinlan, a computer science junior and AIWVU team member. “This challenge really assisted my understanding in how AI works and the amount of effort that goes into creating AI algorithms. I was able to learn so much from this project and I can't wait to use what I've learned and apply it to my future career."

The challenge brought together 229 students across 31 teams from 15 different states. Under the leadership of Tom Devine, teaching associate professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, the WVU team successfully advanced from the qualifying rounds announced in March 2024 to the final phase.

“I am very proud of the work that the undergraduate volunteers from AIWVU put in to make this project successful,” said Devine. “Without a lab or grad students or funding or full-time anything, they came together and competed in an intense competition with some real heavyweights and did not falter or fail. At the beginning of the competition, knowing what they were up against and how difficult the tasks were, I was shooting for ‘not last.’ All things considered, fifth place is AMAZING! We have some of the best students in the country and this was a wonderful chance to showcase their teamwork and talents.”

Facing opponents such as Harvard, Stanford and MIT, the AIWVU team worked to guide the IPEx robot across challenging lunar terrain. The robot had to detect elevation changes and navigate obstacles using onboard sensors, including cameras and an inertial measurement unit, while conserving power to sustain its operations.

“The most exciting part of preparing for this challenge was looking at all the other teams that were accepted and the competition we have to compete against,” said Brady Mercher, a junior studying computer and electrical engineering. “Something I’ve learned while working on this competition is how to quickly learn and utilize large codebases.”

With the support of WVU’s growing academic offerings in AI and machine learning, clubs like AIWVU offer students a powerful platform to merge academics with real-world experiences.

“I’ve learned a lot more about using Linux than I expected when we began the competition,” said Shane Thoma, a junior in computer science. “I thought most of the learning would revolve around robotics and AI technologies and algorithms, but honing my Linux skills has been a surprising aspect of the experience.”

Securing fifth place nationally marks a significant achievement for West Virginia University. It speaks not only to the strength of WVU’s engineering and computer science programs, but also to the grit and determination of its students — bold, driven and ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. This accomplishment is a proud moment for WVU — a clear reflection of the innovation and excellence taking root right here in Morgantown.

To learn more about the AIWVU club and how to get involved, visit their website:  https://aiwvu.orgs.wvu.edu/home.

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