EUROPEAN ROVER CHALLENGE

COMPETITOR ZONE

Do thoughts of the future captivate your imagination? If you’re a student or part of the academic community, here’s an exciting opportunity for you – the European Rover Challenge international space robotics competition. Test your skills, learn to work together on a complex project, and lay the foundation for a successful career in space-related industries.

2024 registration is closed!

2024 RULEBOOK & FILES
REGISTRATION FORM
2024 TASKS TEASER
RULEBOOK ARCHIVE

What's the challenge?

The challenge you’re about to take on is not the easiest but one of the most rewarding. Firstly, you must gather a team of fellow students from one or more universities and register a team. Your main task is to propose a rover design capable of tackling competition tasks based on real NASA & ESA space missions. Show your technical prowess, prove your team-building skills, and motivate others to work together. It’s up to you to choose who makes the best fit for a team member – while an engineering background is essential, your team will also benefit from interdisciplinary & soft skills! If your design qualifies for the competition finals, you’ll be invited to our Marsyard with ~25 other teams. Only then you’ll be able to show if your rover is capable of conquering the Marsyard.

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Design & develop a functional rover

Design a rover that meets all technical requirements listed in the rulebook and can execute all competition tasks. Autonomous operation gives a higher score!

Gain experience while working on a project

Your team’s journey during the ERC will bring you exceptional fun and invaluable experience. Work together to make your project a success.

Conquer the Marsyard and triumph

Let your competitive spirit run wild. Show your team’s progress in competition finals, and showcase your rover’s capabilities.

Obtain industry certification

If you qualified and participated in the world finals, you are entitled to receive an official jury-signed document that proves you have what it takes to take on even most challenging projects.

What's new?

  • 2024 edition, Competition, press office
The future of space robotics shall be decided in Poland!
  • Competition
Registration opens for European Rover Challenge 2024. Register your team now!
  • Competition
Mission: M.E.R.M.A.I.D. – ERC2024 Task teaser

2024 Mission: M.E.R.M.A.I.D.

MARTIAN ENVIRONMENT RECONNAISSANCE MISSION – AUTONOMOUS INTERIOR DATABASE

It is year 2050. The successful execution of ARTEMIS programme has proven that people are able to build bases on the Moon. The next step is to perform the same activities on Mars. This task is far more demanding, especially due to the distance between the Earth and the Mars. It results in no possibility for sending a fast rescue and recovery missions. This is the reason why we must be sure that everything was done to assure the highest possible level safety for the first astronauts that will reach the Red Planet.

 

The first people are going to land on the Red Planet in the next 5 years. Nevertheless, to minimize the remaining risks a rover mission was successfully launched and landed on the surface of Mars, near the place that was selected for the first astronaut’s landing. The rover descended from the lander using the customized egress system and it is ready for operations.

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MARCIN WYGACHIEWICZ
ERC Head of Jury

Our main goal is to create interesting and demanding tasks for teams and ensure that their implementation takes place in accordance with standard processes taken from the R&D industries. We are certain that only due to this approach ERC participants will be ready to take on professional challenges in the space industry immediately after graduation.

Join the ERC Community

Sign up to our newsletter! We’ll do our best to keep you up-to-date with interesting articles, videos and other assets associated with the ERC. We promise it’ll be worth it!

Jury board

Members of the jury are at the core of what the ERC is about – knowledge & experience exchange. ERC Jury Board comprises space professionals from organizations such as the Polish Space Professionals Association, Polish Space Industry Association, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mars Society Poland, and international commercial entities.
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Robert Lubanski
ERC Marsyard Coordinator
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Anna Losiak, Ph.D.
ERC Chief Science Officer
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Marcin Wygachiewicz
ERC Head of Jury
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ERC Stories

What better proof of the merits of the ERC experience than the awe-inspiring stories of teams braving the competition and emerging triumphant? Every team encountered unique challenges that enhanced their skills and resilience in the face of setbacks. Learn more about the ERC through these inspiring interviews!

Switzerland

FHNW ROVER TEAM (2023)

We had a chance to speak with Joel Becker, who introduced us to various challenges his team faced during the ERC, including the difficulty of autonomous navigation, the rain, and issues with their manipulator. However, they remained optimistic and focused on doing their best with the resources available.

Italy

TEAM DIANA (2023)

How to handle a critical problem in your rover design? What to expect when you come to the ERC? How to maintain a team spirit when things don’t go as planned? Watch the video interview with Leonardo Maria Festa – a Team Diana representative we had the priviledge to talk to and learn more about their team & experience!

Spain

UPC SPACE PROGRAM (2022)

What to do when everything goes wrong? Let us introduce you to UPC Space Program (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Euroavia Terrassa) – one of the ERC Teams from Spain that take part in the competition. When we heard their story, we knew we had to share it with the world! It’s so mind boggling we can’t even…

India

DJS ANTARIKSH (2022)

Can you imagine preparing for an international space & robotics competition entirely remotely? No in-person meetings, limited manufacturing possibilities, hampered funding opportunities… As hard as it sounds, that’s the exact story of this video’s protagonist – DJS Antariksh. Watch the interview and find out how they managed to secure the first place in the ERC2021 remote despite all the above!

Questions?

We'll help you out! With all competition-related queries you can contact the ERC Teams Coordinator

KONRAD LIPPERT
ERC Teams Coordinator
teams@roverchallenge.eu

Yes! Registration and participation in the competition are free of charge and do not require any fees.

ERC is a university team competition, therefore, a minimum of 75% of the team must be students, Ph.D. students, or recent graduates. Collaboration with specialists from different fields and university professors is allowed to some degree (please refer to the competition rules for details). Unlimited number of teams may register from the same university. What’s more, you can form a team made of multiple divisions and universities!

So you want to register to the next edition of the ERC? Great! Please get familiar with the competition rules & regulations which can be found on this page (above). If your team meets the requirements, please download and fill all attachments carefully, and send them to Konrad (ERC Team Coordinator) at teams@roverchallenge.eu. Be aware, that you are required to send all attached documents in order to register successfully.

Sure! First of all, take into account the phase of preparing the documentation. Many teams treat it as an introduction to further activities, but it is an essential element of the competition:

1) The ability to prepare documentation is essential in the work of most engineers.
2) The number of teams that will participate in the competition is limited, and the jury will decide whether you will be part of that group based on documentation.
3) We know it might sometimes be overwhelming, but don’t give up! The failures and lessons you learn from them make you a good engineer!

Check our Team Coordinator’s article titled “10 tips for a better start in the ERC!”

Unfortunately, we do not provide such support. Searching for sponsors on your own is a crucial step in any project’s development. It is worth considering from the beginning whether and how you can commercialize your work to prove to potential sponsors that it is worth investing in you. Also, check for additional financing opportunities at your university & public institutions in your country.

It’s up to you to decide who makes the best fit for your team! The ERC is an interdisciplinary experience – your team can be formed of students with different backgrounds and majors. While engineering is a crucial element of the competition, your team will greatly benefit from people dedicated to your team’s management, financing, electrical engineering, software development, and PR.

Following the event location change, the 10th-anniversary edition of the European Rover Challenge will emphasize the importance of full-scale rover development and will not feature a standalone ‘remote’ formula of the competition. Please refer to the official 2024 rulebook for more information.

ERC Teams archive

Find out more about the Teams that take part in the rover challenge each year and follow their path to victory!​

LEARN MORE

ERC STEM Resource Library

Through the years the ERC has gathered countless video recordings, articles, interviews, debates & presentations on the space sector.

AVAILABLE SOON

ERC Industry Certification

The certification serves as a credible validation of participants’ skills, competence, and expertise in the field of space and robotics.

AVAILABLE SOON