Dusty Moon challenge team These men took on a huge task as their Senior Project at the Colorado School of Mines. Gilpin’s own Josh Trujillo is second from right. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES[/caption]

When he graduated from Gilpin High School in 2018 and headed for the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Josh Trujillo didn’t know that three years later he’d be partnering with Lockheed Martin and the School in a contest to assist in construction on the moon.

The Over the Dusty Moon Challenge tasks student teams with designing a system of transporting lunar regolith (moon dust) from a hopper to a factory for the purpose of future construction on the moon. According to Trujillo, “There is currently no system in place to transport regolith on the moon, and we would be breaking new ground in the field of designing and operating mechanical components in the harsh lunar environment.”

As their Senior Design Project, the students, along with their professional colleagues, hope to do a good enough job to “make a good impression on the professionals at Lockheed Martin, represent our school well, and get invited to the Space Resources Roundtable where we can share our design with leading experts in the field of space resources and exploration.”

For their design, the team will be creating a suspended cable car transportation system that can move 1,000 kilograms of lunar regolith in 24 hours. But designing this project is costly, and Trujillo is reaching out to his home community for the funding to make their concept into reality.

His original plea on Facebook has raised more than $1,000, and the team’s goal “is to raise $3,000 for prototyping, materials, mechanical components, and team transportation. This would not only directly contribute to my education but reflect well on our small mountain community by allowing me to represent Gilpin County to some of the world’s leading experts in space travel and space resources.” He adds that any donation helps.

Josh’s parents, Steve Trujillo and Liz Sanchez, still live in the mountain community, and are very proud of their son, who made the most of the opportunities available in this small school with limited STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) classes. Josh adds, “I would like to use this as an example that other kids interested in STEM in Gilpin County have both the resources and the ability to pursue great things.”

For more information about the team or their design, you can reach Trujillo directly at jtrujillo1528@gmail.com, or see the project website at https://goldmine.mines.edu/overthe-dusty-moon-challenge#updates.