Central Missouri News

Members of the Mars Rover Design Team test their 2022 rover at Fugitive Beach. The 2023 rover will be revealed on March 11. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T

The Mars Rover Design Team will reveal its new rover, Helios, for the first time this March at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The team will host visitors 2-4 p.m. Saturday, March 11, in the Kummer Student Design Center at 1051 N. Bishop Ave. in Rolla. There will also be a livestream of the reveal, which will be linked on the team’s linktree. Attendees will be able to talk with members of the team about technologies on the rover.

The team has applied to compete in this year’s University Rover Challenge, an international competition held at the Mars Desert Research Station outside of Hanksville, Utah. Helios will have to complete several missions as part of the competition, including autonomous navigation, equipment repair and analyzing soil samples to test for life. Missouri S&T won the 2017 competition, becoming the first U.S. team to win in seven years, and earned second place in 2018 and third in 2022.

For more information on the Mars Rover Design Team, visit their website at marsrover.mst.edu.

Design teams are registered student organizations that operate as 501(c) non-profit businesses. The teams work like small start-up companies, bringing together students from different disciplines to work on large-scale projects. In addition to hands-on design and manufacturing experience, students gain experience in project management, fundraising, public relations and more. For more information on design teams, visit design.mst.edu.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System and located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 101 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top 10 universities for return on investment, according to Business Insider. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.

Original source can be found here.