Polish teams among the finalists of prestigious Mars robot competition
Five teams from Poland have made it to the finals of the European Rover Challenge (ERC), an international Mars robot competition. This year's eleventh edition of the event will take place on August 29-31 at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow. It is one of the most important events in Europe dedicated to robotics and space exploration.
The event is organized by the European Space Foundation and co-organized by AGH. Media patronage is provided by Nauka w Polsce. ERC is a three-day event, open to the public free of charge, which brings together the worlds of science, education, and the space industry. The program also includes an expert conference with representatives of renowned institutions from the space industry.
“The European Rover Challenge is an event that combines practice with education and innovation. Each edition shows the enormous potential of young engineers from around the world. We focus on the realism of the tasks so that participants gain skills that will be useful in the future in the space sector,” explains Marcin Wygachiewicz, chief judge of the ERC.
This year, a new competition related to astrobiology will be introduced. The teams' task will be to detect potential traces of life and chemical compounds that may indicate its existence.
Twenty-five teams from around the world have qualified for the stationary competition out of more than 100 applications. Some teams will participate remotely. Poland is represented by five teams from technical universities.
During the competition, participants will present autonomous Mars rovers that will face realistic challenges inspired by space missions. The competition will take place on a special track – Marsyard – with an area of approximately 900 m², styled after the landscape of the Martian canyon Valles Marineris.
Details of the event and a list of qualified teams are available on the competition website.
It is worth noting that last year, the European Space Foundation was honored with the title of Science Popularizer in the Institution category.