The good thing is astronauts won't have to worry about their companion chewing up the newspaper. But they may want to take it on a "space" walk from time to time.

Students from 16 states who entered the Engineering Design Challenge recently met with engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to present their designs for part of an astronaut's "best friend."

Their concepts are based on the propulsion system for an emerging NASA project called the Personal Satellite Assistant - a basketball-sized floating robot for astronauts on the Space Station.

Developed by Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., the robot will use small fans to move about the spacecraft while monitoring and recording air quality and temperature - warning astronauts about harmful environments nearby while providing communication between the crew and Mission Control on Earth.

For this year's challenge, students built their own versions of the propulsion system using inexpensive materials - like wooden wheels, batteries and magnets - that might be found in someone's garage. To get the system to "obey," they studied and applied the principles of electromagnetic propulsion - creating motion using electrically charged magnets.

The student challenge - which has different rules and requirements each year - gives budding engineers first-hand experience with problems similar to those faced by NASA engineers designing actual space craft and systems. Students learn to solve problems by working together as a team, and discover how to use their science and math lessons outside the classroom.

Student feedback about this year's challenge proved positive. Yet there was one thing students could never figure out: How will astronauts get the robot to roll over?

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