Participants in NASA's Lunabotics Mining Competition design excavation systems that could be used for future lunar exploration.

Even as the Obama administration pulls the plug on NASA's dysfunctional lunar program, Constellation, NASA is still planning lunar exploration in the long term by piquing the interest of the next generation of scientists and engineers.

22 teams from universities across the United States descended on the Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week to test their designs in a head-to-head robotic mining equipment competition.

The critical test in the The NASA Lunabotics Mining Competition is for students to design and build a remote controlled or "lunabot" autonomous excavator that can collect and deposit a minimum of 10 kg (22 lbs.) of simulated lunar dirt in under 15 minutes.

NASA says it benefits from the competition by "encouraging the development of innovative lunar excavation concepts from universities which may result in clever ideas and solutions that could be applied to an actual lunar excavation device or payload."

Although the Obama administration has come under some criticism for its NASA retooling, the proposed budget would actually increase NASA’s cut by $6 billion over the next five years.

"We want to look at new designs, new materials, new technologies that will transform not just where we can go but what we can do when we get there," said President Obama in a major space policy speech in April.