For this year's competition, head over to https://ukseds.org/ignition/olympus-rover-trials/
Teams will be challenged to
Design, build and test a rover to assemble a power supply system for your Martian habitat
Pass through an engineering review process with space sector engineers
Win against other teams from across the UK
We look for people with hands on project experience when recruiting
Andrew Bacon, Thales Alenia Space UK

2021 - 2022
Participants will
Gain experience working within a team on a technical project
Practice skills learned in their studies
Meet experts and recruiters from across the space sector
This competition provides the right skills and experiences they [students] need to get jobs in the industry
Dr Chris Mutlow, Director of RAL Space
About »
The Olympus Rover Trials challenge student teams to design, construct and operate a rover for a habitat construction mission on Mars. Students create a rover concept, trade off performance parameters and pass through a rigorous review process with panels of engineers from the space sector. The competition aims to:
- Challenge students to perform a complex, systems engineering task of the development of a vehicle to a set of real space mission requirements;
- Enable students to apply taught technical skills and learn new ones relevant to a job in the space industry in an applicable project environment;
- Provide students with an opportunity to develop and practice other important and transferable skills, such as teamwork, leadership and project management;
- Foster interest in the activities of the space sector, especially in space engineering and robotics.
Rules and Resources »
Rules and requirements document, CAD files, drawings, template documents.
FAQs »
Read the collection of frequenty asked questions.
Contact Us »
Have a question about the competition? Want to enter? Want to sponsor?
Key Dates
Competition Launch | November 2021 |
Entry Deadline | 21st November 2021 |
Requirements Freeze | 30th November 2021 |
Preliminary Design Review Deadline | 30th January 2022 |
Preliminary Design Review Feedback | February 2022 |
Critical Design Review Deadline | March 2022 |
Critical Design Review reviewer meeting | April 2022 |
Close Outstranding RIDs | May 2022 |
Test Readiness Review | June 2022 |
Competition Event | July 2022 |