Octanis 1 is our first mission to build a low-cost autonomous rover for polar, snow or ice covered regions. The aim is to provide a low-cost, low environmental impact rover platform for scientific experiments in cold to extremely cold environments. The rover will be small and light-weight enough to be carried on weather balloons. Its design will allow it to traverse icy terrain and be resistant to wind gusts. It will generate its own power with solar panels and regulate internal temperature as it’s first priority. The rover will be on a four-wheel drive platform, each wheel being on a controllable strut, allowing it to drive in any orientation and right itself should it flip over.

Fascinated by molecular biology and wanting to attempt practical experiments, the Octanis team are working on integrating bio-sensors into their open source rover. They are actively looking for ways to make low-cost miniature devices that can measure pH, perform spectroscopy and prepare samples.

More information on their website: octanis.org