15/12/2025
Sabancı University SuRover Club participated in Take Off Istanbul 2025 with its rover developed for Mars exploration missions. Designed with an interdisciplinary engineering approach, the vehicle attracted the attention of numerous visitors from the technology and defense industries throughout the fair.
Founded in 2020, the SuRover team continues to operate as a student initiative that is involved in designing and producing Mars rovers for international rover competitions. The team had its first international competition experience in 2023 with the Legacy V1 rover, and is currently working on its second-generation vehicle, Legacy V2. SuRover aims to provide students with hands-on design, manufacturing, and system integration experience while developing advanced engineering solutions in the fields of space and robotics.
High-Level Visitors at the Fair
The SuRover stand at Take Off Istanbul 2025 was one of the areas visited by leading representatives of the public and defense industries. Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Baykar Chair Selçuk Bayraktar, and ASELSAN CEO Ahmet Akyol received information from the team about the vehicle's design, mission capabilities, and development process. Selçuk Bayraktar signing the SuRover vehicle was among the highlights of the fair for SuRover.
A Multipurpose Vehicle Designed for Mars Missions
The rover developed by SuRover is designed to operate in challenging terrain conditions similar to the surface of Mars. The vehicle has core capabilities such as autonomous movement, remote control, surface sampling, environmental data collection, and robotic arm integration. Thanks to its modular architecture, the system is not limited to planetary exploration but offers a technical infrastructure that can be adapted to different mission scenarios such as bomb disposal, firefighting, and unmanned defense.
Interdisciplinary Team Structure
The SuRover team consists of five sub-teams, including Software, Mechanics, Science, Electronics, and Business Development. The software team develops the vehicle's sensing, data processing, and autonomous decision-making mechanisms; the mechanics team works on the motion system, chassis, and robotic arm design; the science team designs the sampling and analysis processes; and the electronics team designs the power distribution and control systems. The business development team carries out collaborations and fundraising activities that support the sustainability of the project.
