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The Mars Society India - IIT Bombay Rover Project

IIT Bombay, India
Executive Member and Head of Mechanical Subsystem
Advisor: Prof. P. J. Guruprasad
February 2013 – May 2014

Led the 10-member Mechanical sub-system of IITB Mars Rover project
Designed and manufactured rover’s mobility system as well as robotic arm to accomplish various mission objectives like astronaut assistance, sample collection, equipment servicing and terrain traversing
Participated in Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge-2014, a 14 day expedition organized by Mars Society Australia and Saber Astronautics, to test the rover’s capabilities

Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge- 2016

Media Coverage: IIT-B student team sets foot on ‘Mars’ in expedition Down Under, The Times of India City-Mumbai

Expedition Report: J. Clarke, J. Held, A. Dahl, N. Wheaton and the Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge Expeditioners, "Field Robotics, Astrobiology and Mars Analogue Research on the Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge Expedition", Proceedings from the 14th Australian Space Research Conference", 2014 PDF

IIT Bombay's team in Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge-2016

Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge-2016 expeditioners

Participating robots in Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge-2016

Me in a mock astronaut suit, simulating a co-ordinated sample collection task with a rover

Me participating in a field trip for studying Mars-analogue geological features of Arkaroola

Our rover in Arkaroola desert

Our rover climbing an obstacle during terrain traversing test (I am in the background clicking pictures :) )

Our rover collecting a soil sample

These kids got inspired by our rover's design and made a mock model of the same!

Range test of our rover on an airstrip in Arkaroola
Click before an awesome flight on a Cessna 207


Publications

Rajagopal, A., Bende, P., Yadav, S., Agarwal, R., Sathawane, A., Kshirsagar, A., Hemanth, M.C., Kumar N. and Gatkine, P., Design, Modelling and Control of a 6 Degrees of Freedom Robotic Arm with specific applications in Planetary Exploration Missions, International Astronautical Congress, 2015