The Mars Rover Design Team at Missouri University of Science and Technology has won the University Rover Challenge for the second consecutive year, after competing against 35 teams from across the country and around the world.  

“We didn’t go into it thinking we were world champions,” says Chase Stem, chief executive officer of the team and a 2026 graduate. “We’re a new team, a new group of students, a new leadership group, with a new rover.” 

Held annually at the Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville, Utah, the competition consists of science, delivery, equipment servicing and autonomous navigation missions, as well as a review of the rover’s design. The rover, designed and built by the students, was required to maneuver through soft sand and rocky terrain, around vertical drops and steep slopes, as well as navigate autonomously for certain parts of the challenge. 

“One of our mottos is ‘we’re not people building a rover, we’re people building people,’” says Stem. “We really focus on the people that make the team. We were complimented by judges at every turn for our coordination and effectiveness at each task.” 

The team scored 90.57/100 on the system acceptance review score, based on a written report and a video detailing the capabilities of the rover. The video showcasing the rover, Athena, is available to view on Youtube. 

Missouri S&T’s team shone in the equipment servicing mission and delivery missions, finishing both with a perfect score of 100. They finished in a five-way tie for first on the autonomous navigation mission, and in a tie for eighth on the science mission. The team’s final score was 469.57, over 50 points ahead of second place — and their own winning score from last year, 412.27.  

Countries represented at the competition include Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, South Korea and Türkiye, as well as many teams from the United States. 

Members of the team who traveled to the competition are:  

• Alexander Adams, a junior in mechanical engineering from Knob Noster, Missouri 

• Lauren Booth, a senior in geology and geophysics from New London, Missouri 

• Jesse Deuel, a 2026 graduate in computer engineering from Mill Valley, California 

• Ethan Dingman, a senior in mechanical engineering from Edwardsville, Illinois 

• Emma Espinosa, a sophomore in physics from Independence, Missouri 

• Kagen Fetters, a junior in mechanical engineering from Blue Springs, Missouri 

• Seth Fraser, a senior in mechanical engineering from Chaffee, Missouri 

• Drew Fundaburg, a junior in electrical engineering from Knob Noster, Missouri 

• Kelci Graville, a senior in mechanical engineering from O’Fallon, Missouri 

• Luke Kaiser, a senior in computer science from Chesterfield, Missouri 

• Adam Klassen, a senior in computer science from Saint Joseph, Missouri 

• Samuel Nolte, a junior in computer science from Chesterfield, Missouri 

• Morgan O’Connell, a senior in electrical engineering from Ballwin, Missouri 

• Cooper Ritzma, a 2026 graduate in electrical engineering from Concordia, Missouri 

• Michael Simpson, a junior in mechanical engineering from O’Fallon, Missouri 

• Chase Stem, a 2026 graduate in aerospace engineering from Columbia, Missouri 

• Ryan Swan, a 2026 graduate in mechanical engineering from Wildwood, Missouri 

• Sofia Tripp, a senior in electrical engineering and physics from St. Louis 

• Josephine Tyndorf, a junior in aerospace engineering from Carlsbad, New Mexico 

• Gavin Vander Veen, a junior in computer engineering from Columbia, Missouri 

• Brendan Westley, a 2026 graduate in computer science from Saint Charles, Missouri 

• Eliot Wheeler, a junior in mechanical engineering from St. Louis.  

About Missouri University of Science and Technology 

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.