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PBS "The Mars Prospect"
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Anticipation Builds for 2008 University Rover Challenge
More than five dozen college students will descend upon the quiet, desert oasis of Hanksville, Utah this Thursday, June 5, for the Mars Society’s 2008 University Rover Challenge (URC), sponsored by Raytheon. Teams will spend Thursday touring the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) facility, completing last-minute practice runs, and formally weighing-in their rovers. Competition begins on Friday, June 6, with the Construction, and Soil Characterization Tasks, and runs through Saturday, June 7, with the Emergency Navigation, and Geology Tasks.
BYU Completing Last-Minute Updates at the 2007 URC. Credit: Hugh S. Gregory
Visitors of the URC web site (also available through www.universityroverchallenge.org) will be able to watch live web-cam feeds of the teams working in between events at the base camp area, and catch frequent text and video updates from the intense competition. Active Mars Society members will have access to exclusive content, including team interviews, and several video highlights of the competition events.
After a few last minute line-up changes, the 2007 URC Champion, University of Nevada, Reno, will face-off against a deep and competitive international field looking to pull off an upset. Other teams include:- Brigham Young University, 2007 URC runner-up
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Oregon State University
- Iowa State University of Science and Technology
- York University (Canada)
- Liceo de Arte y Tecnologia (Puerto Rico)
More than pride and a year’s worth of bragging rights are on the line – the winning team will secure a large cash prize, and receive travel to the 11th Annual International Mars Society Convention in Boulder, Colorado, August 14-17, 2008. There they will have the opportunity to present their work to a packed house alongside a long list of distinguished and exciting speakers.
Media and sponsorship opportunities are still available for URC - please contact Kevin Sloan if your organization is interested.
Commentary: Rockets Run on Dreams
