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�Ӱ�ֱ�� students from around �Ӱ�ֱ�� and the world will converge at the �Ӱ�ֱ�� of Adelaide to pit their custom-built lunar rovers against each other in a one-of-a-kind event from 20 to 24 March, during the �Ӱ�ֱ��’s 150th anniversary year.��

Aiming for the Moon

According to Associate Professor John Culton, co-founder of ARCh and Director of the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, the challenge aims to inspire the next generation of �Ӱ�ֱ��’s space workforce to learn by doing.��

“The �Ӱ�ֱ��n Rover Challenge is one of the most technically demanding rover competitions in the world. Every rover will be tested against four tasks that together simulate a full real-life mission to the moon. The teams are being challenged to solve a really complex variety of lunar exploration problems,” he said.��

The four tasks are: rolling off a lunar lander and accessing nearby equipment; lunar excavation and construction work; prospecting for resources buried among the lunar regolith (Moon dust); and mapping the lunar surface using only autonomous sensing and navigation.��

Associate Professor Culton notes that the current cohort of students will be among the first to experience end-to-end careers in the space industry.��

“The �Ӱ�ֱ�� of Adelaide has a long history of developing �Ӱ�ֱ��’s competency in the space sector, and this challenge is just another way we’re nurturing the skills and expertise that will power �Ӱ�ֱ��’s space industry,” he said.��

“This will be the first generation of �Ӱ�ֱ��n university students with the opportunity to work in the civil space sector from graduation right through to retirement without having to go overseas.”��

A clear career pathway for students����

Georgia Dallimore, co-lead of the Adelaide Rover Team, is in the fifth year of a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical & Aerospace) (Honours) with a Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Science degree at the �Ӱ�ֱ�� of Adelaide. She says ARCh creates a pathway for students into a career supporting space exploration.����

“This Challenge provides an incredible chance to learn practical skills on a student STEM project like no other,” she said.��

“For me, it has been a direct pathway from working on the simulated lunar mission in the ARCh, to now contributing to a real-life lunar mission as an aerospace engineer in my ongoing internship.”��

“The ARCh has been a cornerstone of my time at the �Ӱ�ֱ��. It’s an exciting, adrenaline-pumping week where you witness the culmination of your team’s hard work, alongside the amazing innovation from students around the world.��

“Long-lasting friendships are made in a collaborative, supporting environment- something constantly championed by our Project Lead, Thomas Burke. This spirit makes the intensely complex task of building a rover a success for the team.”

Competing teams for the 2024 �Ӱ�ֱ��n Rover Challenge are:

Event Details��

• ARCh welcome event and EXTERRES Analogue Facility official opening��

• Date: 20 March 2024��

• Time: 3 pm��

• Location: Roseworthy campus, �Ӱ�ֱ�� of Adelaide��

• ARCh competition days��

• Date: 21-24 March 2024����

• Time:�� daily from 9 am to 5 pm.��

• Location: Roseworthy campus, �Ӱ�ֱ�� of Adelaide��

The challenge will be livestreamed at on the ARCh webpage ��

�Ӱ�ֱ��n Rover Challenge partners are: Boeing, ELO2, iSpace, �Ӱ�ֱ��n Space Agency, South �Ӱ�ֱ��n Space Industry Centre, Caterpillar, CSIRO and Mini Mammoth Games.��