Held annually in the desert of southern Utah in the United States, the Mars Society's
University Rover Challenge (URC) challenges student teams to design and build the
next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside astronauts exploring
the Red Planet.
Five components go into the final competition score. The SAR is submitted in March, while the other missions are completed in June at the Mars Desert Research Station.
- The System Acceptance Review (SAR) consists of a five minute video and six page paper demonstrating the rover's capabilities. Only the 36 highest scoring teams are invited to compete in finals held at the MDRS near Hanksville, Utah.
- The Science Mission requires that we search a site for evidence of the presence of current or past life.
- During the Extreme Delivery Mission, the rover must be able to deliver a variety of objects to astronauts in the field across rugged terrain.
- The Equipment Servicing Mission includes a mock lander with several challenges requiring dexterity.
- The robot must be able to autonomously travel to a series of locations during the Autonomous Navigation Mission.