After an incredibly competitive System Acceptance Review, 38 teams from 11 countries will compete at the 2026 University Rover Challenge Finals, being held May 27-30, 2026 at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah!
A record 116 teams from 18 countries (!) began the year competing for a coveted invitation to the URC2026 Finals. Teams submitted both written reports as well as video demonstrations of their rovers, which were scored by URC’s panel of judges. The URC, led by its director Kevin Sloan, commends all of the participating teams for their hard work, dedication, and perseverance!
The 38 Finalists will now spend the next two and a half months refining their rovers and conducting advanced testing to prepare themselves for the field competition in one of the most extreme and Mars-like environments on Earth!
Meet the URC2026 Finalists:
Australia
- Monash Nova Rover; Monash University
https://www.novarover.space/
Bangladesh
- AAUB Rover71; AVIATION AND AEROSPACE UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH
https://www.facebook.com/Rover71.AAUB - BRACU Mongol-Tori; BRAC University
https://www.bracu-mongoltori.com/ - MIST MONGOL BAROTA; Military Institute of Science and Technology
https://mongol-barota.mist.ac.bd/ - Project Altair; Islamic University of Technology
- UIU Mars Rover; United International University
https://marsrover.uiu.ac.bd/
Canada
- Carleton Planetary Robotics Team; Carleton University
https://curover.ca/ - Queen’s Space Engineering Team; Queen’s University
https://qset.ca/ - Robotics for Space Exploration; University of Toronto
https://rsx.skule.ca/ - Space Concordia; Concordia University of Montreal
https://spaceconcordia.ca
India
- Team RUDRA – SRM Mars Rover; SRM institute of Science and Technology , Kattankulathur
https://srmrudra.com
International (Japan/US)
- KARURA; Tokyo University of Science, Texas A&M University, The University of Tokyo, Waseda University, Hiroshima University, Ritsumeikan University, Chuo University, Kokugakuin University, Musashino Art University, National Institute of Technology Toyama College, Takushoku University, Tohoku University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, University of Texas at Austin, Aomoriakenohoshi High School, Metropolitan Musashi High School, Yokohama Science Frontier High School
https://karura-project.studio.site/
Italy
- Team DIANA; Politecnico di Torino
https://www.teamdiana.it
Japan
- ARES Project; Tohoku University, Keio University, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, University of British Columbia
https://www.arespjt.jp/ - NAFT Mars Rover; Nagoya University, The University of Tokyo, Meijo University, Chiba Institute of Technology
https://naft.space
México
- Mars Rover UdeG Space; Universidad de Guadalajara
https://marsrover.mx - Quantum Robotics; Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus CEM and Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Universidad Autónoma de México
https://qrteam.space/
Poland
- IMPULS; Kielce University of Technology
https://www.facebook.com/marsroverkielce - KNR Rover Team; Warsaw University of Technology
https://knr.edu.pl/ - Legendary Rover; Rzeszow University of Technology
https://legendary.prz.edu.pl/
Republic of Korea
- MR2; KAIST
https://urc-kaist.github.io/ - Zenith Space; Seoul National University of Science and Technology
Türkiye (Turkey)
- YILDIZ ROVER; Yıldız Technical University
https://rover.yildiz.edu.tr/
United States
- A.S.T.R.A.; University of Alabama in Huntsville
https://space.uah.edu/programs/autosat/astra - Binghamton University Rover Team; Binghamton University
- BYU Mars Rover; Brigham Young University
https://marsrover.byu.edu/ - Cornell Mars Rover; Cornell University
https://marsrover.engineering.cornell.edu/ - DAM Robotics; Oregon State University
https://osurobotics.club/ - Husky Robotics; University of Washington Seattle
https://huskyrobotics.me/ - Mars Rover Design Team; Missouri University of Science and Technology
https://marsrover.mst.edu - Michigan Mars Rover (MRover); University of Michigan
https://mrover.org/ - New Haven Robotics; University of New Haven
https://robotics.newhaven.edu/ - Northeastern University Mars Rover Team; Northeastern University
https://nurover.com - Team Mountaineers; West Virginia University
https://urc.orgs.wvu.edu/ - Team RoSE (Robotic Space Exploration); University of Hawaii at Manoa
- UMD Loop; University of Maryland, College Park
https://umdloop.com - Wisconsin Robotics; University of Wisconsin-Madison
https://wisconsinrobotics.org/ - Yonder Dynamics; University of California, San Diego
https://yonderdynamics.org/
For more details about the URC and the Mars Society, please visit marssociety.org.
