Student teams from all over Europe and Canada have been flocking to enter the Aurora design competition since its inception in January. After careful evaluation by experts from the Aurora Programme and others with specific technological and scientific expertise, the 17 finalists of this exciting competition have now been selected.
More information at:
http://www.esa.int/export/SPECIALS/Aurora/SEMFKRYO4HD_0.html
The successful teams will go on to present their projects in Barcelona on 8-9 September, when the overall winners will be picked by a jury that will include members of the ESA/Aurora Exploratory Programme Advisory Committee (EPAC).
“ESA is always on the lookout for imaginative new ideas and concepts that could enhance Europe’s long-term plans for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system, and we believe that European universities can contribute much to this,” said the competition organiser, Piero Messina of the Aurora Programme Office.
“We are delighted at the response from the next generation of mission designers and engineers,” he added. “All of the projects are of an excellent standard and the panel would like to express its appreciation of the students’ work, effort and enthusiasm.”
Design entries were invited for five categories: Arrow and Flagship missions, Enabling Technologies, Surface Robotics and Human Missions. The three most impressive entries in each category were chosen by the panel of experts, with a further two from the Human Missions’ section where competition was particularly fierce.