Thanks to Jonathan for writing in about this awesome Robotic arm project! Check out more info here.
What do we do?
We design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside human explorers in the field.
The Missouri S&T Mars Rover Design Team (MRDT) was established in 2012 to compete in the University Rover Challenge (URC) hosted by The Mars Society. URC expects rovers to perform a number of tasks in the southern Utah desert in conditions analogous to those that would be expected in and around colonies on Mars. In two short years we have become the leading Mars rover design team in the U.S., and second in the world. This feat would not be possible without Missouri S&T, the generosity of our sponsors, and the dedication of our members.
In the time between competitions, MRDT commits to a year-long design, fabrication, and integration process. MRDT operates completely on donations from sponsors and our university in order to see our rovers realized. Our current rover, Horizon (shown below), competed in URC 2015. It features components designed entirely by members of our team, such as:
- A water-jetted aluminum chassis
- 3D-printed differential gears for the robotic arm
- 80 lithium-polymer battery cells
- Custom Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) for communication, battery management, and power distribution