This is a project started between Jan 2016 till Sep 2016, my sophemore year. At that time I was a undegraduat majored in Computer Engineering.
The project is lead by Dr.Bayandor, CRASH Lab (used to be in Virginia Tech). The goal is to design a modern pressurized Mars rover for future humaned Mars Mission. There are charllenges such as:
The rover needs to protect astronout from space radiation
The rover needs to be able to compress. The higher the compress ratio, the more efficient use of space.
Capable of supporting astruounuts living inside.
Needs to design not just the rover, but the way to ship it to Mars and deployment
Building articulating model
...
This is not only a project, but a competition. I'm competing with students majored in Mechanical Engineering to deliver the best design to NASA. At the end of the competition, 4 designs would be selected and launched on a sounding rocket for vibration test.
# This is a retrospective project writing. I wasn't smart enough to document the entire project at that time. But late is better than never. I kept all project files and I'm trying my best to reconstruct the pieces and my experiences during that semester and I decided to document the project afterward. I'm very proud of what I've done as a student majored in Software (able to compete with students majored in Mechanical Engineering and won a seat on the rocket).