University Rover Challenge
Encyclopedia
The University Rover Challenge (URC) is an annual international competition hosted by the Mars Society
for University and College students to complete a given scenario using a rover
the team has built.
, 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.
The most recent year's event also required that the propulsion and power systems of the rover be easily adaptable to Martian conditions, greatly limiting the practicality of using internal combustion engines at the competition.
, competing teams will remotely operate their rovers to remotely deploy a radio repeater and survey a second area for possible signs of life.
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.
Mars Society
The Mars Society is an international space advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars. It was founded by Robert Zubrin and others in 1998 and attracted the support of notable science fiction writers and filmmakers, including Kim...
for University and College students to complete a given scenario using a rover
Rover (space exploration)
A rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other astronomical body. Some rovers have been designed to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots...
the team has built.
Location
The competition is held at the Mars Desert Research StationMars Desert Research Station
The Mars Desert Research Station is the second of four planned simulated Mars surface exploration habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.-Background:...
, outside of Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville is a small town in Wayne County, Utah, United States, at the junction of State Routes 24 and 95. The town is just south of the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek, which together form the Dirty Devil River, which then flows southeast to the Colorado River...
. 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.
Dates and times
The first URC was held on Saturday June 2, 2007 at 7:00 AM MST. The second URC was held on June 5–7, 2008. beginning at 8:00 AM MST. The third URC was held May 28–30, 2009, beginning with an orientation at 11:00 AM MST beginning in the Whispering Sands motel parking lot.Scenarios
The competition is run under the basic assumption that the rovers being designed are being designed as assistive rovers for a manned mission to mars, and as such, are allowed recharge times between events, and are allowed un-delayed radio communications with the team running the rover.The most recent year's event also required that the propulsion and power systems of the rover be easily adaptable to Martian conditions, greatly limiting the practicality of using internal combustion engines at the competition.
2007
At the Mars Society's inaugural University Rover Challenge in 2007, in the often Mars-like desert of the American WestWestern United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, competing teams will remotely operate their rovers to remotely deploy a radio repeater and survey a second area for possible signs of life.
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
2009
The events for the third year were very similar to those of the previous year, and consisted of:- Emergency Navigation to find a lost astronaut given only last known GPS coordinates.
- Remote Surveying to find the location of posts placed in the desert using the rover.
- Construction to turn or touch 12 bolts on 2 panels at different angles.
- Extremophile Search to find evidence of extremophiles in the desert.
2010
This year featured the largest pool of registered teams yet. The tasks were once again similar, but some now with added complexity:- Emergency Navigation to find a distressed astronaut and deliver a package
- Equipment Servicing to read a list of step-by-step commands directing the rover to push buttons, flip switches and plug an electrical plugs into outlets in a predefined order.
- Sample Return to search for a location in the area that exhibits signs of extremophiles, return the sample so that it can be analyzed at the base station.
- Remote Surveying to find the location of posts placed in the desert using the rover.
Prizes
The winning team will receive transportation, lodging and admission for five individuals to present their rover at the Annual International Mars Society Convention, as well as cash prizes.2010
- 1st Place: Oregon State University Robotics Club
- 2nd Place: York UniversityYork UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
(York Mars Rover Team) - 3rd Place: MAGMA Team from Poland
2009
- 1st Place: York UniversityYork UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
(York Mars Rover Team) - 2nd Place: Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU Mars RoverBYU Mars RoverThe BYU Mars Rover is a student designed, built and run project overlooked and funded primarily by the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Physics departments at Brigham Young University...
) - 3rd Place: University of Nevada, RenoUniversity of Nevada, RenoThe University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
- 4th Place: Oregon State University Robotics Club
- Georgia Tech
- University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
- Warsaw University of TechnologyWarsaw University of TechnologyThe Warsaw University of Technology is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland, and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors . The student body numbers 36,156 , mostly full-time. There are 17 faculties covering almost all fields of...
2008
- 1st Place: Oregon State University Robotics Club
- 2nd Place: University of Nevada, RenoUniversity of Nevada, RenoThe University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
- 3rd Place: York UniversityYork UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
(York Mars Rover Team) - 4th Place: Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
- Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU Mars RoverBYU Mars RoverThe BYU Mars Rover is a student designed, built and run project overlooked and funded primarily by the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Physics departments at Brigham Young University...
) - Georgia Tech
- University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
2007
- 1st Place: University of Nevada, RenoUniversity of Nevada, RenoThe University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
- 2nd Place: Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU Mars RoverBYU Mars RoverThe BYU Mars Rover is a student designed, built and run project overlooked and funded primarily by the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Physics departments at Brigham Young University...
) - 3rd Place: University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
- 4th Place: Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
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.
See also
- Colonization of MarsColonization of MarsThe colonization of Mars by humans is the focus of speculation and serious study because the surface conditions and availability of water on Mars make it arguably the most hospitable planet in the solar system other than Earth...
- Exploration of MarsExploration of MarsThe exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s...
- Flag of Mars
- Haughton-Mars ProjectHaughton-Mars ProjectThe Haughton–Mars Project is an international interdisciplinary field research project being carried out near the Haughton impact crater on Canada's northern Devon Island. human-centered computing studies are aimed at determining how human explorers might live and work on other planetary...
- Life on MarsLife on MarsScientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars owing to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. Fictional Martians have been a recurring feature of popular entertainment of the 20th and 21st centuries, but it remains an open question whether life currently exists on...
- Manned mission to MarsManned mission to MarsA manned mission to Mars has been the subject of science fiction, engineering, and scientific proposals throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century...
- MARS-500MARS-500Mars-500 was an international multi-part isolation experiment simulating a manned flight to Mars. The experiment's facility was located at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow, Russia. A total of 640 experiment days were scheduled between 2007 and 2011,...
- Mars Desert Research StationMars Desert Research StationThe Mars Desert Research Station is the second of four planned simulated Mars surface exploration habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.-Background:...
- Mars DirectMars DirectMars Direct is a proposal for a manned mission to Mars. Proponents of the scheme have claimed it to be both cost-effective and that it can be conducted with current technology. It was originally detailed in a research paper by NASA engineers Robert Zubrin and David Baker in 1990, and later expanded...
- Mars to StayMars to StayMars to Stay missions propose astronauts sent to Mars for the first time should stay there indefinitely, both to reduce cost and to ensure permanent settlement of Mars. Among many notable Mars to Stay advocates, former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin has been particularly outspoken, suggesting in...
- Space colonizationSpace colonizationSpace colonization is the concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth. Although hypothetical at the present time, there are many proposals and speculations about the first space colony...
- Space scienceSpace scienceThe term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
- Timekeeping on MarsTimekeeping on MarsVarious schemes have been used or proposed to keep track of time and date on the planet Mars independently of Earth time and calendars.Mars has an axial tilt and a rotation period similar to those of Earth. Thus it experiences seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter much like Earth, and its...