1 Game Letter

To: Zero Robotics Competitors

Greetings, Space Engineers! As part of an extended research campaign on the International Space Station (ISS), NASA and the Zero Robotics team are calling on your advanced coding and robotics skills. The ISS crew relies on Astrobee—an autonomous, free-flying robotic platform—to support critical operations in microgravity. This year, your challenge is to program Astrobee to manage a sustainable vegetable-growth system aboard the station.

Your robot must navigate in microgravity, execute precise maneuvering, and coordinate a full agricultural workflow: planting seeds, watering them on schedule, harvesting mature crops, and clearing failed plants. Astrobee must also allocate time efficiently, prioritize tasks dynamically, and respond to real-time mission updates from the crew.

Astronauts will specify which crop type they need using hand gestures. Your robot may visit the Astronaut Zone to detect this gesture—however, only one robot may enter the zone at any given time. Successfully identifying and fulfilling these requests can earn valuable bonus points.

Key Mission Considerations

The team that earns the most points wins. This is your opportunity to prove your engineering skills and claim the title of Best Space Robotics Team!

2 Background

Welcome to the Zero Robotics Game Manual for the 2026 High School Tournament: Galactic Garden! This guide will equip you with the essential knowledge and rules to participate.

Human Space Exploration

The first human in space was Yuri Gagarin from the Soviet Union in 1961. Since then, over 600 people from 43 nations have traveled to space. The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest human-made object orbiting Earth, hosting scientific investigations since 2000.

Growing Plants in Space

Plants provide astronauts with fresh food and a connection to Earth. NASA's "Veggie" system (2014) enables crop cultivation on the ISS, and the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH, 2017) provides fully automated growth chambers.

Robotics in Space

Astrobee Robot

Astrobee is a cube-shaped free-flying robot (~32cm × 32cm × 32cm, 10kg) that assists astronauts. The three robots—Bumble, Queen, and Honey—use fan-based propulsion to move safely in microgravity.

Ground Robotics Demo

On February 21st, you'll deploy code onto real hardware including drones and underwater robots in a ground robotics demonstration!

3 Game Introduction 

Guide Astrobee to manage crops across 6 plots, respond to astronaut requests, and compete against another robot.

Game Duration: 240 seconds (4 minutes)

4 Gameplay Concepts

Garden Layout

>>> Click to see an overview of the game setup in 3D space <<<

Movement

Coordinate system: X = Left/Right, Y = Forward/Back, Z = Up/Down

game.MoveTo(x, y, z);
game.MovePlot(id);           // id = 1-6
game.MoveAstronaut();
game.LeaveAstronaut();
game.MoveWatering();
game.MoveToHome();

Scoring System

Crop Types

Crop Lifecycle

game.PlantCrop(plotID, cropID);
game.WaterCrop(plotID);
game.HarvestCrop(plotID);

Astronaut Bonus System

Visit astronaut for +5 pts and a bonus crop (+50% on harvest). Complete all 3 bonus crops for +10 pts!

game.MoveAstronaut();
int bonus = game.GetBonusCrop();  // Returns crop ID 1-6
game.LeaveAstronaut();

Removing Failed Crops

game.MoveToHome();
game.GrabShovel();
game.MovePlot(plotID);
game.RemoveCrop(plotID);
game.MoveToHome();
game.DropShovel();  // Shovel drains battery!

5 Advanced Features

Sprinkler System

Cost: 10 pts each (max 2)

Space Tractor

6 API Reference

Movement

Crop Operations

Resources

Information

7 Strategy & Scoring

Tips for Success

1. Visit astronaut early & often — +5 pts per visit + bonus crops
2. Keep moving — 0.5 pts/meter adds up
3. Explore all 6 plots — 12 pts exploration bonus
4. Diversify crops — Avoid diminishing returns
5. Fast crops early — Blueberry (3s), Strawberry (5s)
6. Complete all 3 bonus crops — +10 completion bonus

Sample Code

void loop() {
    // Visit astronaut for bonus crop + 5 points!
    game.MoveAstronaut();
    int bonus = game.GetBonusCrop();
    game.LeaveAstronaut();

    // Plant and water the bonus crop
    game.MovePlot(1);
    game.PlantCrop(1, bonus);
    game.WaterCrop(1);

    // Plant fast blueberry on plot 2
    game.MovePlot(2);
    game.PlantCrop(2, 5);
    game.WaterCrop(2);

    // Refill water
    game.MoveWatering();
    game.FillWateringCan();
}

8 Code Submission

9 Resources & Guidelines

Key Dates

Piazza

AI Usage

ChatGPT and AI tools are allowed. Please document how you used them in your code write-up.

10 Tournament Rules

• MIT/ZR can use/publish submitted code
• Report bugs immediately
• No manipulating scoring or accessing restricted info
• Code must be written by students only
• No exploiting bugs or unintended features

11 Quick Reference

Blueberry:  3s / 3pts   Strawberry: 5s / 5pts
Tomato:     6s / 6pts   Cabbage:    8s / 7pts
Potato:     9s / 8pts   Melon:     12s / 11pts

Harvest:     Base × (0.75)^count
Bonus crop:  +50%
All 3 bonus: +10 pts
Astronaut:   +5 pts/visit
Movement:    +0.5 pts/meter
Exploration: +2 pts/plot (max 12)

game.MovePlot(id)     game.PlantCrop(plot, crop)
game.WaterCrop(plot)  game.HarvestCrop(plot)
game.MoveAstronaut()  game.GetBonusCrop()
game.MoveWatering()   game.FillWateringCan()

12 Change Log