WSU in Everett earns spot on Mars rover contest for second year

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Washington State University’s Mars Rover Team has earned a spot in the 2017 University Rover Challenge in Utah.

It’s the second year the team from WSU’s Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture at the Everett campus has entered the international robotics competition.

Last year, the students earned second place and became the top-placing American team.

The team will largely utilize the same rover they constructed for the competition in 2016, calling it simply Rover 2.1. They will face new challenges, which means making major upgrades.

Nineteen students are part of the WSU Everett Engineering Club. Mitch Elder, a senior mechanical engineering student, is the president of the club. Mark Walsh is the team lead on the project. Walsh spent 12 years in the U.S. Air Force and has a background for this competition.

Several companies have donated money and other support for the project. Sponsors have included Blue Origin, Electroimpact, Metal Supermarkets, Boeing, Pacific Power Batteries and Janicki Industries.

Elder also thanked Everett Community College, which is providing use of its Advanced Manufacturing Training & Education Center.

The team still needs support to build the rover and to pay for the students to attend the competition. Here’s a link to contribute.