The anniversary Mars rover competition was held on 6-8 September, and for the first time it took place in Kraków, where a space imitating Mars was built for the event.

On Sunday, the competition jury announced the results. The winner was the FHNW Rover Team from Switzerland. They scored 2,258.24 points out of a possible 3,000. Right behind them were the competition hosts - the Krakow AGH Space Systems team with 2026.5 points. Third place on the podium went to the ITU Rover Team from Turkey with 1796.6 points.

Teams from prestigious universities around the world take months to prepare for the competition. They design and build rovers. The documentation of their work is assessed by experts from space sector companies and organizations. The finalists present the capabilities of their robots on a special Mars track in several competitions based on real missions of space agencies such as NASA and ESA.

The anniversary edition of the ERC featured the new Marsyard project. As part of the preparations, a canyon inspired by the Martian Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the Solar System, was created.

The ERC is not just a competition, but also an opportunity for young engineers planning their careers in the space and robotics sector. 'Together with the organizers and partners of the event, we are happy that every year the competition attracts such excellent experts, thanks to which we are actually expanding the group of recipients we reach with this unique programme. This is evidenced by the constantly expanding group of event participants and special guests, including experts from ESA and NASA', says the originator and main organizer of the event, Łukasz Wilczyński.

As part of the ERC in Kraków, a popular science conference was also held with the participation of outstanding domestic and foreign space sector experts. The guests included an expert at NASA JPL and chief engineer of the Mars 2020 mission, Dr. Swati Mohan, and a representative of Axiom Space, a leading provider of manned space flight services - Simon Jenner.

The exhibitors' zone attracted enthusiasts of astronomy and new technologies of all ages. They had the opportunity to take part in specialist workshops and conduct experiments at the exhibitors' booths.

This year's ERC also featured the finals of the Earth Rescue Challenge - Water Edition project, a nationwide competition for secondary school students. The competition involved conducting satellite observations of their region and proposing a solution for the protection and sustainable management of water resources based on the collected data. The competition winners were the team from the Local Government High School in Opoczno, whose winning solutions will be implemented in practice.

The anniversary edition of the ERC was also a meeting place for business representatives and investors interested in the space industry. For example, as part of the partnership with the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA), individual mentorship consultations were held with representatives of the organisation and the European Commission, aimed at increasing the chances of entrepreneurs to access capital financing and establish partnerships with investors.

The organiser of the 10th edition of the European Rover Challenge was the European Space Foundation, and the co-organiser was the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. The event was held under the honorary patronage of such institutions as the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Ministry of National Education, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). The project is financed from the state budget.

PAP - Science in Poland is the media sponsor of the event. (PAP)

PAP - Science in Poland

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