The Australian Rover Challenge (ARCh) is back for another year, bigger than ever and in a new home.

A record 212 participants from eight Australian and two international teams will go head-to-head at this year’s challenge which will be held at The University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy campus for the first time.

The annual robotics competition, which runs from 21-24 March, sees student teams competing in a series of challenges using self-designed and built semi-autonomous rovers. The custom-built rovers are put to the test in a full-scale lunar mission on a simulated lunar surface.

The South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC) is a proud supporter of the Australian Rover Challenge and the Adelaide Rover Team which will once again be competing this year.

In the lead up to the event, Adelaide Rover Team treasurer and sponsorships manager Georgia Dallimore said the team was excited to test its rover on the new competition track.

“This year our team has reached a record number of members, allowing us to develop new systems to achieve the objectives in each of the challenge tasks,” Georgia said.

“It’s fantastic to see a record number of teams registered for this year’s challenge, which will definitely up the competitiveness.

"We’re very excited to meet everyone and look forward to forging new friendships with those who have joined the Australian Rover Challenge for the first time this year."

Acting Chief Executive of SASIC Reg Carruthers said that it was an honour to support the challenge, which he hoped would inspire local students to develop their talents in STEM.

“The Australian Rover Challenge provides students with the opportunity to leverage their problem-solving and technical knowledge in an engineering challenge like no other,” said Mr Carruthers.

“It is particularly exciting this year as it will be the first use of the new facility at Roseworthy Campus, a world-class, multi-purpose research facility for application in the space and agriculture sectors.

"Providing a platform for the next generation of industry leaders is crucial in fostering innovation, driving economic growth and promoting collaboration.”

According to Associate Professor John Culton, co-founder of ARCh and Director of the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, the challenge aims to inspire the next generation of Australia’s space workforce to learn by doing.

“The Australian Rover Challenge is one of the most technically demanding rover competitions in the world," Prof. Culton said.

"Every rover will be tested against four tasks that together simulate a full real-life mission to the moon. The teams are being challenged to solve a really complex variety of lunar exploration problems."

The four tasks are: rolling off a lunar lander and accessing nearby equipment; lunar excavation and construction work; prospecting for resources buried among the lunar regolith (Moon dust); and mapping the lunar surface using only autonomous sensing and navigation.

Click here to learn more about the Australian Rover Challenge and follow the Adelaide Rover Team’s journey.