The Challenge
MRover's primary goal is to win the University Rover Challenge (URC). Student teams from all over the world compete in the URC to design and build the best rover for assisting future astronauts. The URC is hosted by The Mars Society, the largest advocacy group for the exploration and settlement of Mars, and it takes place at the Mars Research Station in the Utah Desert. The competition consists of four events:
- Extreme Retrieval and Delivery - Traveling over tough terrain
- Equipment Servicing - Manipulating various pieces of equipment with the robotic arm
- Science - Acquiring soil samples from a chosen site and evaluating it for signs of life
- Autonomous Navigation - Driving to GPS coordinates and searching for markers nearby
- Boneyard Salvage - Assess the reactor site's location, damage, radiation and hazards
- Reactor Maintenance - Replace depleted reactor rods while managing temperature and coolant levels
- Arm Dexterity - Manipulating equipment and carrying cargo to service a lander
- Traversal - Autonomously locate stations and follow a trail of lights at night
- Mars Murder Mystery - Photograph a murder scene, scan ArUco tags, and return items
Mechanical Team
Robotic Arm
The Robotic Arm subteam designs and builds a five degree-of-freedom robotic arm responsible for completing tasks in the "Equipment Servicing" and "Extreme Retrieval and Delivery" portions of the competition. The arm is able to lift objects, open drawers, push buttons, type on a keyboard, and accomplish other precise movements.Mobility
The Mobility subteam develops and builds the drive and suspension systems to navigate through rocks and rough terrain in each competition mission. They work to provide reliable driving and agile maneuvering, while also protecting sensitive onboard equipment from impacts and vibration.Chassis and Mounts
The Chassis and Mounts subteam develops a lightweight and strong chassis that is optimized for the integration of all our sub-systems. They also develop our gimbal camera for operation, physical enclosures for electrical components and wire management for a professional-looking rover.Science-Mechanical
Science Payload Instrumentation
Science Payload Instrumentation subteam brings together our sensors and tests, performing in-situ sampling. Their science box is able to perform on-board science and life-detection tests required for URC's Science Mission. The SPI system also has sensors for sampling the surrounding environment and external cameras to analyze rock formations.Science Payload Acquisition
The Sample Acquisition subteam focuses on developing and testing the mechanics of soil collection. In 2025, the sample acquisition system consisted of a linear actuator-driven sheathed auger collection system that drills into the ground, coring up to 10-cm deep, which then transports soil samples upwards and into the SPI system.Science
Astrobiology
The Astrobiology team is responsible for developing tests to analyze soil and rock samples for signs of past or present life. They research different indicators of life, identify possible tests for those indicators, and then work with the Science Payload Instrumentation subteam and others to make those tests work in real-time onboard the rover for URC. And the Astrobiology team conducts the tests themselves at CIRC (where onboard testing is not required).
Software Team
View our open source code at: https://github.com/umrover/mrover-ros
Autonomy
Our Autonomy team is further divided into 3 subteams: Navigation, Perception, and Localization. Navigation plans and executes a path for the rover to search an area while avoiding obstacles. Perception identifies key features of the environment (objective markers) and obstacles in the path. The rover’s navigation system uses A* to path plan around obstacles for the autonomy mission. The cost map grid is periodically centered on the rover to support obstacle avoidance over longer distances without needing a larger grid. Recent autonomy projects include working on integrating inverse kinematics onto our rover's robotic arm.Embedded Software
The Embedded Software subteam writes low-level driver code that allows the other programming subteams to utilize the electronic equipment on the rover. They work primarily with libraries in C and python, provided by manufacturers, to abstract the functions needed by the other teams for easy use.Teleoperation
The Teleoperation subteam creates the interface between driver and rover. They maintain the GUIs used at the base station used to control the rover and view system metrics, as well as develop control solutions for complex systems (such as our robotic arm) to improve accuracy and usability. Disjointly, the Teleoperation subteam maintains and improves general software infrastructure such as our custom build system.Drone
The Drone subteam is developing a drone to be used in collaboration with the Rover during the delivery mission at URC. Our drone is capable of both manual and autonomous operation and can carry out tasks such as reading signs, locating objects, and acting as a backup communications link between the Rover and the team. This year's projects include improving the drone's communication systems, upgrading the mechanical structure to increase flight time, and adding custom autonomous capability for specific mission tasks.Electrical Team
View our open source boards at: https://github.com/umrover/mrover-electrical
Power
The Power subteam is in charge of providing power to the rover and managing the electronics box. They develop custom solutions to distribute power to key systems around the rover and partner with all mechanical subteams to design the best power delivery system for their needs. This year they look forward to improving their custom battery design.Embedded Hardware
The Embedded Hardware Handling subteam works on controlling actuators, receiving signals from sensors, and managing data connections from the electronics box to external components. They design custom printed circuit boards for power distribution, sensor interfacing and motor control.Communications
The Communications subteam is responsible for ensuring a strong, wireless RF communication link between the base station and the rover. This includes testing various radio and antenna equipment in a competition-like environment to select the best RF system for the rover.Business Team
The business team organizes corporate sponsorships, grants and other fundraising opportunities, such as Giving Blueday, for MRover. They are also responsible for creating team merchandise each semester. The business team keeps the team website up to date and set up recruitment and community outreach events. Most members of the business team are also members of other subteams!