1	Read the rules!
2	Build your robots.
3	Ship the robots to us.
4	Operate them remotely from your home lab.
5	Complete the task within 24 hours.
6	Claim your prize!

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Yes - play from home!

Since the only interaction you have with the "Martian" environment is through your robots, there is no need for you to have to leave your couch! (er, we mean your lab...)

To play, you will package your robots in a "lander", and ship them to us. We place your lander on the "Martian" surface, and hook you up through a 20-minute delayed internet connection.

From then, it's up to you! When you win, we will even mail the check directly to your home.

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As we said, the only interaction you have with the "Martian" environment is through your robots.

Before you attempt the actual assembly, we allow you to send in a scout robot to gather information about the environment. Just like the assembly task, your scout robot will have to land, deploy, and communicate with your base of operations (the aforementioned couch).

Any information you learn through your robotic scouting can give you an edge when it's time to attempt the challenge.

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6/15/06	Draft rulebook announced.
6/16/06	Public comment period begins.
7/16/06	Public comment period ends.
7/31/06	Rules entered NASA review.
TBA	NASA approval and prize purse commitment.
TBA	Registration opens.

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Registration will open once the final rulebook is published, at the end of July.

You will be able to reserve the arena for a 24 hour period, for either scouting or assembly, 30-180 days in advance.

Once registered, your entry will show a public calendar. You will be able to request an earlier date, but not a later one.

We therefore recommend that you attempt to claim the prize as early as possible, but no earlier!

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No, but it is highly recommended. You only have 24 hours to complete the task.

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We're still working this out, but the total weight limit will be around 50 kg.

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Once on the "surface", your lander will be continuously plugged to a 110V/20A power outlet, simulating a power generation / collection facility.

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The pipeline will have to be constructed from standard plumbing pipes. We'll publish the details soon, but the pipes will be available from your neighborhood hardware store.

Well, as it stands now, NASA's Centennial Challenge has not been granted any additional funds for '07. Which means MarsBarn is out of the game for the time being, but we'll be back. We received a lot of interest about this, so we're ready to get things going the minute we can. Thanks for your support so far!

Suppose we want to build a fuel/oxygen generation plant on Mars, comprised of an ore processor, a reactor, and storage tanks. Or suppose we want to build a human habitat, comprised of several interconnected habitation and support modules...

With today's technology, we already know how to build the basic machinery we need on Mars, and we also already know how to send payloads to the Martian surface...

The problem we face is that we can only ship a ton or two at a time. (The Spirit and Opportunity packages weighed in at only half a ton each), and so have to assemble the structures on the Martian surface - with the human operators still on Earth!

This is difficult, since communication between Earth and Mars takes 20 minutes (at best) and so immediate "remote control" is not feasible - check out the Mars Rover Autonomous Mobility web page for an explanation - and keep in mind that cooperative tasks are a lot more complex than simply "driving around"...

The goal of the competition is to learn how to control a complex logistics operation from Earth. In particular - where the line should lie between autonomous operations and human control.

In order to win the prize, a team has to complete a robotic assembly task, but it must do so while controlling its robots from across the country with a control latency of 20 minutes! The team never gets to see the arena, except through the eyes of its robots. Even advanced knowledge of the arena is accomplished through a "scout" robot that the team must build.

The task is to construct a water-tight pipeline between a simulated "resource generator" and a "storage tank". The task is complete when water can flow freely into the latter. The team has 24 hours to complete the task.

The team "launches" its robots to Mars by packaging them in a "lander" and shipping them to the arena. The lander is simply a structure that can survive shipping and allow the robots to egress. When we receive a lander, we simply place it in the arena, charge it up, and activate the communication link. From that point and until assembly is complete, there is no more human intervention except through the communication link.

The most current snapshot of the rulebook is available here. Before commenting, please read the FAQ, which we keep updating as we receive more input from the public.