The European Rover Challenge (ERC), one of the biggest worldwide space robotics competitions, has been held since 2014. From 13 to 15 September the Kielce University of Technology hosted the fifth competition in the series, focusing on technological development for space exploration.

The core of this event is the international ERC-Student competition. The university students vie with each other to build a rover of similar characteristics to those used for Martian exploration and pass a series of tests comparable to those they would come across in a real case. Forty teams from 15 different countries were assessed by a jury of independent experts including a GMV representative.

In this edition, the competition was accompanied by the industry and business conference. The subjects discussed in the presentations and talks included the opportunities in Space domain for Poland companies as well as next steps in Space exploration. Paweł Wojtkiewicz, GMV's Director for Space in Poland and President of the Board of the Polish Space Industry Association (ZPSK), moderated the panel discussion on the benefits of working on international projects for space agencies, with participation by representatives from NASA, OHB, TAS Italia and Astronika.

Mariella Graziano, GMV’s Robotics and Flight Segment Manager, took part as speaker in the two discussion panels "Next giant leap" and "Strategic Research Cluster in space robotics PERASPERA – opportunities and challenges", talking about GMV’s experience in Martian and lunar exploration and as leading company of various robotic technology building blocks of the European Commission’s Space Robotics Strategic Research Cluster (SRC).

The event was addressed to experts in planetary robotics, scientists, industry representatives, the new technology sector and the public at large. The European Space Foundation is the main organizer of this event, which forms part of an annual program serving as reference point for planetary robotics activities. With initiatives like ERC-Student, the foundation aims to encourage innovative research and a passion for STEM skills (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).