2014 GSA Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia (19–22 October 2014)

Paper No. 258-10
Presentation Time: 3:25 PM

MISSOURI S&T’S MARS ROVER DESIGN TEAM IS ENGINEERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLORERS; HUMANS AND ROVERS ALIKE


WARD, Sarah, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 1106 N Pine St, Rolla, MO 65401

The Mars Rover Design Team (MRDT) was founded by a group of Missouri S&T students who were passionate about space exploration. This group of undergraduates went from building a ‘prototype rover’ out of an old RC car to engineering a custom built Mars rover that took 2nd place in the University Rover Challenge, in just three years. The MRDT’s goal is to create the next generation of rovers; those that will be assisting astronauts on Mars. MRDT also strives to involve the community and campus in educating them in space exploration. MRDT keeps their goals in mind everyday through their saying “Today, Tomorrow, Forever.” Today we are building a rover. This process will build the skills and knowledge of the team members to succeed professionally Tomorrow. And the end goal is to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers to passionately make new discoveries in space exploration Forever.