SPACE RACE: `MOON BUGGIES' FIGHT TO THE FINISH

SPACE RACE: `MOON BUGGIES' FIGHT TO THE FINISH

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Wireless Flash) -- There's not much use for a lunar vehicle on Earth -- unless you're one of the students competing in NASA's "Great Moonbuggy Race" later this month. On April 17, 32 high schools and colleges from around America will haul their model moon cars to the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and run them over a half-mile simulated moonscape featuring lava ridges, craters, rocks and imitation lunar soil. Organizers say the vehicles range from high tech titanium rigs to clunky soapbox derby cars made from old bicycle parts. It takes about 7 minutes for most teams to complete the course, but the students who finish the race first will win a trip to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the launch of a space shuttle.

CONTACT: Frank Bannon (race director), ***1/2; Arrange thru Jerry Berg; Huntsville, AL; (256) 544-0034