RISD Astro designed and fabricated an extraterrestrial vehicle that adheres to NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge guidelines. In 2024, we placed 5th out of roughly 150 international college teams. We were the lightest rover at 94 pounds, earning the “Featherweight Award”.
Our rover features carbon fiber seats, wheels, and suspension, a folding mechanism to pack the rover into a 5ft x 5ft x 5ft crate, and 15 inches of ground clearance.
The Three-Wheeled Rover:
1.43 Lbs. Seat (2024)
Positive mold carved from foam, smoothened with plaster + epoxy
Indexed mockup for ergonomic testing
Twill pre-preg carbon fiber cured
The Process (2025)
CAD model of our prototype.
Fiberglass negative mold made from a positive plug; covered in teflon film for mold-release
Pre-preg carbon fiber with documented layup patterns and procedure
Scale seat prototype; fins allow for independent flex
Simple layup process with patterns placed on aluminum plate (1/3 scale model)
Two halves of our tensioned wheel which will be glued at the rim and jacked apart at the hub
Proof-of-concept for our proposed torsion spring suspension system
Manual milling of our chassis brackets