Minister for Science: Our students know how to win abroad

Mars rover Hyperion 2 built by Białystok University of Technology students won the University Rover Challenge 2014 in the United States, organized in late May and early June in the desert in Utah. The team won the tournament for the third time: In 2011 they won with the rover Magma 2, and in last year Hyperion 2 predecessor Hyperion - reminded the Minister during the meeting in the Ministry. Students from the University of Rzeszów took third place in the competition.

"Our teams prove that students can create, invent fantastic solutions, they can win international competitions. The way to achieve this is teamwork, cooperation. You and young people like you, students, have our complete support" - emphasised the Kolarska-Bobińska and congratulated the team of constructors and authorities of their university.

"Can I shake the rover’s arm?" - joked the Minister. Hyperion rode up to her and carefully handed her a bouquet of roses.

The competition of Mars rovers built by students attracted 23 teams from around the world. Hyperion Team took first place, scoring 368 points. "Last year, we won with the highest recorded score, 493 out of 500 points possible, and this year we were the first team in the world to win for the second time in a row" - emphasized coordinator and chief designer Michał Grześ from Białystok University of Technology.

During the competition rovers took a soil sample, and the teams proved they could find life forms in the samples. The rovers also transported tools, such as wrenches and hammers, and delivered them to a specific location, as they were theoretically intended to provide support to an astronaut. Robots also had to travel a specific route and deal with a "servicing task", inflating a tire - described Michał Grześ.

"These rovers are not flying to Mars. It is a rover analogue, student prototype" - noted the team coordinator. He explained that the idea of the program is to create a robot that could support manned missions to other planets. "The point is not to build copies of the rovers Curiosity or Opportunity that explore Mars. We build lightweight robots that cost little, and that can be sent with astronauts to another planet and help them with certain tasks. For example, instead of spending a lot of time to suit up and go out to onto the planet surface, an astronaut could send out a robot to collected samples"- he explained.

The construction of the robot and the travel to the competition was financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education project "Generation of the Future". The university also acquired a sponsor - PKO BP.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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