Australian Rover Challenge

The Australian Rover Challenge (ARCh) is held annually at the University of Adelaide Roseworthy Campus, bringing together university teams to design, build, and operate semi-autonomous rovers capable of performing complex tasks in a simulated lunar environment.

The challenge consists of various mission scenarios including the ELO2 Post Landing Task, Caterpillar Excavation & Construction Task, iSpace Space Resources Task, and Boeing Mapping & Autonomous Task. Teams must demonstrate proficiency in remote operations, terrain traversal, object manipulation, and autonomous navigation.

“While the ultimate focus of our Centre is to support long-term human presence beyond low-earth orbit, we know that our astronauts will necessarily be preceded, and then accompanied by, significant numbers and varied types of remotely operated or semi-autonomous robots.”

The Macquarie Aerospace Rover Society (MARS) is working hard to improve our rover design, autonomous capabilities, and task performance for the 2026 Australian Rover Challenge. We're focused on developing cutting-edge solutions and building a strong team to achieve our goals.

Competing in the ARC provides students with hands-on experience in robotics, artificial intelligence, mechanical and electrical engineering, and space exploration technologies. The skill sets developed align perfectly with efforts to develop infrastructure for long-duration human operations in deep space, including NASA's Artemis program.

This competition represents an incredible opportunity for students to gain practical experience in space robotics and contribute to the advancement of planetary exploration technologies. It's an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries of innovation and contribute to the future of space exploration.