WARR Space Robotics is an interdisciplinary robotics project that is developing 2 rovers and a space elevator. It is an independent team within the Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Raketentechnik und Raumfahrt (WARR e.V. – Scientific Workgroup for Rocketry and Spaceflight), the largest student group developing space technologies in all of Germany. Since 1962, the WARR has enabled highly-motivated students at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) from diverse backgrounds to work theoretically and practically on a wide variety of projects, from the rockets to rovers and everything in between. These students are able to supplement their education with a hands-on component which is normally unattainable in the context of a university degree.

The team was established in 2017 for the purpose of competing at the European Rover Challenge (ERC). It has since participated at the 2018 and 2019 editions of the competition. After the ERC 2019, the team pivoted its focus to create a proof-of-concept for a rover capable of automated in-situ construction in the context of ESA’s Moon Village. Its work was selected for the ESA_LAB@ Initiative IGLUNA 2021 as one of the 12 best student research projects in all of Europe. The IGLUNA research initiative culminated in a field campaign atop Mt. Pilatus in Lucerne, Switzerland, where the team rigorously tested its hardware, demonstrating its capabilities to both the general public and the IGLUNA’s board of experts. Currently, WARR Space Robotics is working on Project CRATER, short for Compact Rover for Autonomous Traversal, Experimentation, and Retrieval.

Since its inception, the team has created 2 rovers, with its third being in preparation for the ERC 2024. The first rover, the WARRthog, competed in the ERC 2019 as briefly mentioned above. The second rover, the Lunar Automated Rover for Solar Sintering (LARSS), combines solar sintering with a mobile rover platform into a novel powder bed fusion (PBF) 3D printing method which could be used for lunar construction. The third rover, the Martian Autonomous Rover for Experimentation and Exploration (MAREE) is currently in development and will serve as an autonomous test platform for research instruments. Given its dissatisfaction with its performance at the ERC in 2019, the team feverishly strives to excel in the ERC 2024.

In order to aid in this endeavor, WARR Space Robotics is partnering with another major TUM student initiative: Horyzn. Horyzn is a student initiative at the TUM with half a decade of experience designing, manufacturing, and testing eVTOL UAS (electrical vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial systems). In this time, Horyzn has synthesized a wealth of experience in UAV design, flight testing, carbon fibre manufacturing, and autonomous flight.

The team initially participated in the German Neues-Fliegen silent eVTOL competition, developing the largest eVTOL aircraft at TUM. In recent years, Horyzn has been focused on carrying out Mission Pulse, an ambitious project to develop a drone to deliver a defibrillator to a patient in a rural setting. In 2021, Horyzn presented its prototype – Frankenstein, and the team is currently leveraging experiences and lessons learned to finalize manufacturing the next generation full-scale prototype – Kolibri. As WARR’s project partner, Horyzn is responsible for developing and deploying the aerial platform for the Droning Sub-Task.

Together, these two student initiatives form the group WARRYZN Space Robotics for the purposes of the ERC 2024.