Attend the Australian Rover Challenge

Venue Information

The Australian Rover Challenge 2024 will take place from Thursday 21 March - Sunday 24 March from 9am -5pm daily at the brand new purpose-built EXTERRES facility at the University of Adelaide Roseworthy Campus.

The drive from Adelaide CBD to Roseworthy Campus is approximately 45 - 60 minutes depending on the time of day and traffic conditions. Enter from Mudla Wirra Road, turning into Philip Drive. There is ample free parking in close proximity to the Challenge Arena as shown below. Grandstand seating will be available for spectators. 

Event Schedule

Thursday 21 March

Post-Landing Task presented by the Australian Space Agency

Rovers will descend from the Lander and perform a systems check before exploring the local environment. Rovers will have to assess the Solar Array and Communications Tower before performing maintenance on the Processing Plant. Lastly, Rovers will have to connect a propellant hose from the Processing Plant to the Lander in anticipation of the ascent.

Friday 22 March

Excavation and Construction Task presented by ELO2

Rovers must now scale-up operations and prepare the site for a future human landing by conducting some foundation services. To do this, Rovers are expected to complete four primary activities: remove hazards by clearing rocks; excavate, transport and deposit regolith to feed the processing plant that is beginning to manufacture sintered-regolith pavers and bricks; and construct a feature of the team’s choosing using dust-mitigating pavers brought from Earth.

Saturday 23 March

Space Resources Task presented by ispace

Rovers have to analyse a prepared sample of icy regolith, and then process the material to produce water. Rovers will also have to prospect a site and determine what concentration of ilmenite is present in that site. After the task, teams will host a presentation where they will be asked what their approach and methods were to the task.

Sunday 24 March

Mapping & Autonomous Task presented by Boeing

Rovers will explore a new area given a rudimentary map, perhaps derived from data collected by orbiters. This map will contain a series of landmarks that scientists are interested in imaging in more detail, and the rover will need to navigate to these without human intervention. Then, either autonomously or under operator control, a larger-scale map of the arena will need to be constructed, and the locations of previously-unknown landmarks will need to be determined. Teams will present their findings and approach to the judges after the conclusion of the task.