RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Middle school students from Saint Mary's Catholic School in Richmond submitted a proposal to compete in a NASA challenge. The 31st annual Human Engineering Rover Challenge (HERC) is a competition meant to encourage students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). NASA selected 75 college/university, high school and middle school teams from around the world to take part in this challenge.  Saint Mary is one of two middle school teams selected to design and build a rover car that can drive through a moon and Mars-terrain obstacle course.   Technology teacher Peter Tlusty has taught at the Catholic school for 18 years and has entered a few challenges with students from classes in that time. “I've had several students go on to higher education,” Tlusty said. “I have one going to Harvard this year and one going to Embry-Riddle. I just get a kick out of ... these kids that, you know, maybe I had a little something to do with them [continuing on to] be engineers and interested in space.” Tlusty selected two students, Reagan Core and Mary-Catherine Vehorn, as the captain and safety officer for the project. Both students said the experience is an exciting way to showcase their love for outer space technology and a chance to make memories with classmates. “I love anything to do with space,” Core said. “A lot of my classmates were also excited about it and we couldn't wait to get started. We are 3D printing our tires out with rubber filament. I think that is one of my favorite things that helps make it stand out.”  Teams will showcase their work next spring at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.  Vehorn said it’s always been a dream to work on a project like this. “I've always loved the idea of going into space and exploring there,” Vehorn said. “When I was ten, I went down to Huntsville, Alabama, [to] a massive camp. That really sparked my interest even more. When I grow up, I hope to be an aerospace engineer or a chemical engineer.” Students will have to raise roughly $10,000 before they showcase their rover against other schools. The competition is scheduled to begin on April 11, 2025.