Students created vehicles dubbed "moonbuggies" to face challenges similar to those engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center addressed in preparation for Apollo 15. On that mission, on July 31, 1971, the first Lunar Roving Vehicle extended the range of astronauts on the moon to allow for further exploration than was otherwise possible. Two other rovers were sent to the moon on subsequent missions. Subsequent races have been held in April. In 1996, the competition was moved to a -mile () course at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center; high school teams also began competing.