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Mars Rover Challenge Adapted from Information by the Missouri University of Science & Technology and The Mars Society Missouri University of Science and Technology’s (S&T) Mars Rover Design Teamwas one of only 28 teams selected to compete at the University Rover Challenge (URC) at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah. Teams from around the world competed to show- case the next generation of planet survey- ors. Sponsored by The Mars Society, the challenge was designed to demonstrate the fundamentals of remote robotic travel and task completion. Where on Earth could they hold such a competition? With a harsh terrain closely resembling the rocky topography of Mars, the desert near Hanksville, Utah, was selected. In addition to teams from the United States, Missouri S&T competed against teams from Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, India, Poland, and South Korea. Teams were required to submit a video presentation explaining the design and cost of their rover. Overall, more than 300 college students took on the rugged Mars-like terrain of southern Utah and after two rounds of competition, and five different events over a three-day period, the Legendary Rover Team from Rzeszow University of Technology in Poland defended its title from 2015 with another amazing victory. Coming in second place was the WSU Everett Engineering Club from Washington State University (WSU) Everett, and third place went to the Continuum team from the University of Wroclaw in Poland. The Missouri S&T Mars Rover Design Team won the first-ever Phobos Final with their rover named Zenith. This student-designed and -built rover used cus- tom circuitry developed by the team. The team also machined the aluminum and carbon-fiber support structure, developed carbon-fiber wheels for terrain mobility, had the frame cut using water-jet technology, and used 3-D printing to create the gears and drill bits used in the rover’s arm. Students were faced with numerous trials. The astronaut assistance task re- quired teams to use the rover to collect lost tools left in the field and deliver them to multiple locations. The equipment serv- icing challenge required the rover to repair a mock equipment system. Tasks could include turning valves, pushing buttons, and reading pressure gauges. In the sam- ple return test, the rover had to collect soil samples at selected sites in the field and use onboard instrumentation to perform a basic scientific evaluation to determine geological significance, or the likelihood of biological life. URC judges were impressed by the exceptional level of both competition and comradery this year. The students demon- strated the combination of talent, passion, and world-class capabilities in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments. Photo of the Zenith Mars Rover by Sam O’Keefe courtesy of Missouri S&T. 4< * '3* "& > > > > ,'< ? /2+ '6* /3+6 /3+6 ')1/3- " " !8=2+ /7843 4* 4* ')1/3- !+8 5)7 !8'3*'6* $'2:+ 9((+6 6':+2 $'2:+ 9((+6 !+'87 9((+6 $'2:+ 37+687 #6+8.'3+ $'2:+ 37+687 $'2:+ !56/3- ! ! $'2:+ 4:+6 '71+8 ? !;/:+2 ')1/3- ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 6/)+7 !9(0+)8 "4 .'3-+ %/8.498 48/)+ ! < < < < < 24 AUGUST 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®