Polish Space Industry Association became the honorary patron of the fourth edition of the European Rover Challenge, which will take place on September 14-16, 2018 at Muzeum Przyrody i Techniki Ekomuzeum im. Jana Pazdura in Starachowice.
European Rover Challenge is one of the biggest international space and robotics events in the world. With each subsequent edition, interest in the event increases. This year 50 teams compete. The teams consist of about a dozen people whose task is to prepare a fully functional Martian robot during the year leading up to the competition.
Visitors will have a chance to watch the rivalry between robots and gain knowledge thanks to the scientific and technological presentations about the space and the benefits of its exploration. This year they will also have an opportunity to participate in a competition that requires navigating a small robot through an obstacle course. An exhibition presenting a fragment of the space base MARS 2030, a residential space project for manned spacecraft, is also planned.
The organizers of the event also ensure the presence of special guests: the founder of the Mars Society – Ph.D. Robert Zubrin, head of the European Space Agency robotics department – Ph.D. Gianfranco Visentin, and Timothy Peake, the first British ESA astronaut who worked at the International Space Station. Timothy Peake will also take part in the opening ceremony of the competition, scheduled for Friday (September 14th), and during a special lecture for the public, he will talk about his work at the ESA astronaut training center.
Admission to the event is free.
You can read more about the event at www.roverchallenge.eu.