Rescue Mission MESS
Space robotics engineers, we need your assistance on a rescue operation.
Satellites Incorporated launched its newest creation in early 2023: Modular Earth Sensing Surveyor (MESS), a ½ ESPA-sized spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO). MESS is not properly responding to commands, putting the mission in jeopardy.
Your job is to:
- Identify the issue.
- Design and build a system to perform maintenance on MESS.
Your launch date is set for June 2024. SDL will perform rendezvous and docking operations to get your robot to the satellite, and then it is up to your team to fix the malfunctioning MESS. Good luck!
All 2023-24 teams have been selected.
Timeline
Competition Requirements
All interested Utah collegiate robotics engineers should form a team and sign up by Saturday, November 4, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. MDT. Teams must have 3–10 members (at least 75% of members must be undergraduate students) and one faculty advisor.
Teams will be selected to compete. Each team will develop their SpaceBot and present it at a live demonstration in front of a panel of judges on June 6, 2024.
Each team will:
- Design, build, and test their SpaceBot.
- Conduct a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and Critical Design Review (CDR).
- Develop a poster and presentation for the live Demo Day.
Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams:
- 1st $750
- 2nd $500
- 3rd $250
Additional information and technical specifications about MESS and its responses to various commands will be provided once teams have been selected.
HandbookLive Demonstration Location
Space Dynamics Laboratory
416 East Innovation Avenue
North Logan, UT 84341
Event Sponsors
Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory
American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
USU Section