Researchers and students from the Warsaw University of Technology, and more specifically from the Faculties of Geodesy and Cartography and Electronics and Information Technology, as well as the Faculty of Geography and Geology of the Jagiellonian University, have used nearly 40 tonnes of aggregate to prepare a test field in Józefosław that reproduces aeolian and impact forms found on the Red Planet.

Mars exploration research team

The team will verify whether a swarm of autonomous rovers equipped with sensors such as lidar, stereoscopic cameras, GPR, etc. will make it possible, in collaboration with a suitably constructed UAV, to explore Mars. They will also answer questions such as whether a set of autonomous measuring devices will allow the creation of a detailed model of terrain relief and its derivatives, and whether a swarm of rovers will perform scientific exploration of Mars faster and more accurately than the Perseverance and Ingenuity duo currently performing their mission.

Research work in Józefosław using the rover

The research, which has just begun in Jozefoslaw, will provide answers to these questions. Members of the research team hope that this will be a great step for the cooperation of the WUT with the leading scientific centres in Poland and in the world involved in Mars research.

Rover prototype