University Rover Challenge
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The University Rover Challenge (URC) is an annual competition held by the Mars Society for college students to complete a given scenario using a rover the team has built.
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[edit] Location
The competition is held at the Mars Desert Research Station, outside of Hanksville, Utah. The site was selected by the Mars Society for its geographic similarity to Mars - in addition to being a largely barren desert area, the soil in the area has a chemical composition nearly identical to Martian soil.
[edit] Dates & Times
The first URC was held on Saturday June 2nd, 2007 at 7:00 AM MST.
The second URC is scheduled to take place June 5-7, 2008. beginning at 8:00 AM MST.
[edit] Scenarios
[edit] 2007
At the Mars Society's inaugural University Rover Challenge in 2007, in the often Mars-like desert of the American west, competing teams will remotely operate their rovers to remotely deploy a radio repeater and survey a second area for possible signs of life.[1]
[edit] 2008
At the 2nd event teams were given 4 tasks to complete in the hot desert. Those tasks were:
–Emergency Navigation to find a lost astronaut given only last known GPS coordinates
–Soil Characterization to find ph levels and other information about the soil
–Construction to turn or touch 12 bolts on 2 panels at different angles
–Geological Survey, just like in 2007 to look for possible signs of life
[edit] Teams
[edit] 2007
- Brigham Young University
- Pennsylvania State University
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of Nevada, Reno[2]
[edit] 2008
- Brigham Young University
- Georgia Tech
- Oregon State University
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of Nevada, Reno
- Iowa State University
- York University
[edit] Prizes
[edit] 2007
The winning team will receive transportaion, lodging and admission for five individuals to the 10th Annual International Mars Society Convention at UCLA in September, 2007, $5000, and bragging rights for a year - until URC 2008![3]
[edit] Results
[edit] 2007
- 1st Place: University of Nevada, Reno
- 2nd Place: Brigham Young University
- 3rd Place: University of California, Los Angeles
- 4th Place: Pennsylvania State University
Both the Penn State and UCLA rover teams experienced technical difficulties that contributed to their low finishes. The Penn State team was forced to withdraw from competition due to the severity of their problems.
[edit] References
- ^ The Scenario -- The Mars Society. marssociety.org. Retrieved on May 30, 2007.
- ^ Teams -- The Mars Society. marssociety.org. Retrieved on May 30, 2007.
- ^ The Scenario -- The Mars Society. marssociety.org. Retrieved on May 30, 2007.
