Best Place To Build

This IIT Madras team is building rovers & drones for MARS EXPLORATION | BP2B: Student Edition! Ep.05

Space exploration isn’t just happening at NASA or ISRO labs — it’s being built by students too. In this episode of Best Place to Build – Student Edition, we go inside Team Anveshak, the space robotics team of IIT Madras, to understand how students design, build, and test Mars-style rovers, autonomous systems, drones, and astrobiology modules from scratch. The team walks us through: • How a semi-autonomous Mars rover is built and tested • Why rovers and drones work together in real space missions • How students simulate Martian terrain and mission constraints on Earth • The engineering behind 3D-printed rover wheels and gearboxes • Building an in-house spectrometer to detect signs of extraterrestrial life • The role of AI, sensors, and onboard computing in space autonomy • Competing in national and international space robotics challenges • Leadership, teamwork, and staying motivated in high-pressure competition teams From mechanical design and electronics to software, biology, and chemistry, this episode shows how interdisciplinary engineering comes together to push the future of space technology forward. If you’re a student interested in space tech, robotics, AI, or engineering teams, this is a must-watch. Key Highlights 00:48 Anveshak: Team Lead Introduction and what Anveshak does 01:58 Rover and Drone Partnership: How does it help? 02:40 Mars: Why Mars and how is the Mars environment replicated for testing? 06:25 Competition Experience: Anxiety inducing or Exciting? 09:22 Meet Isaac: Anveshak’s current rover and upcoming competitions 12:18 Anveshak Results: Competition wins and Achievements 14:22 Designing a Robot for Mars: The difference and challenges 21:18 Money Matters: Rover costs and saving costs with 3D printing 25:30 The Anveshak Drone: Masterclass on drones and how they work 27:31 Autonomous Driving: How do you remotely drive a vehicle on a different planet? 32:17 In-House Development: What parts has the team built on its own? 33:50 Anveshak Astrobiology Module: What is the mission and what does the module do? 37:43 Women in STEM: Adithi’s advice to girls in STEM and future plans for Anveshak

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Dec 19, 2025·43m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1

   Team Anveshak’s mission: prototype Mars rovers + a complementary drone

   Host Vidhi meets Adithi (team lead) who explains what Team Anveshak builds at IIT Madras. The team’s focus is on robust rover operations inspired by real missions like NASA’s Perseverance/Curiosity and India’s Chandrayaan, with a drone module added to extend capability.

2. 2

   Why pair a rover with a drone in planetary exploration?

   Adithi describes how rovers already reach places humans can’t, and drones extend that reach further to areas rovers struggle with. Together, they broaden accessible terrain and improve exploration efficiency.

3. 3

   Why Mars: habitability clues and Earth-like parallels

   The conversation shifts to why Mars is a primary target. Adithi explains Mars’ relative similarity to Earth’s conditions (from prior research) and the broader goal of understanding whether Mars could have supported—or could someday support—life and habitation.

4. 4

   Rover capabilities and team structure: 50 students, five modules

   Adithi outlines the rover’s core functions: semi-autonomous navigation, remote operation, and a manipulator for field tasks. She also breaks down how ~50 students are organized across modules that cover mechanical, electronics/software, astrobiology, drone, and finance/sponsorship.

5. 5

   Simulating Mars on Earth: competition terrains and base-station constraints

   The team tests in Mars-like arenas set up by national/international competitions—rugged ground, dust, craters—and replicates mission constraints. Operators often cannot directly view the rover and must rely on camera feeds, mirroring real remote operations.

6. 6

   Competition emotions and field failures: topple, recover, finish the mission

   Adithi describes the stress and excitement of operating under competition rules, especially as a runner close to the rover but unaware of operator intent. She shares a dramatic incident where the rover attempted a 70° climb, toppled onto its antenna, then resumed successfully—demonstrating robustness.

7. 7

   Meet ‘Isaac’ (10th rover iteration): testing sprint and upcoming challenges

   Post-semester, the team is deep in daily testing for the International Rover Challenge (IRC) in late January. Adithi explains their alphabetical rover naming tradition and describes the intense iteration cycle—fault-finding, simulating missions, and pushing reliability before competition.

8. 8

   Track record and milestones: design awards, autonomy wins, and international placements

   Adithi lists key achievements, highlighting strong performance in autonomy and design-focused events. The team’s results demonstrate sustained iteration and credibility across Indian and international competitions.

9. 9

   Designing for Mars vs Earth: materials, constraints, and mission objectives

   Mechanical lead Ayush explains how Mars design differs from Earth prototypes: extreme environments, material science tradeoffs, and higher stakes when hardware is irreplaceable. For student competitions, designs balance realism with manufacturability and cost while still targeting mission-like performance.

10. 10

    3D printing transformation: wheels, gearboxes, steering, and iterative innovation

    Ayush details how the rover evolved from pneumatic tires and aluminum-heavy builds to significant 3D-printed components. The team now prints wheels, arm parts, grippers, and cycloidal gearboxes, enabling fast iteration, weight reduction, and new features like steering improvements.

11. 11

    Budget realities: cost per rover and how printing reduces spend

    The team discusses the financial side of building advanced student rovers. Isaac-class rovers cost roughly ₹3.5–4 lakh, with 3D printing cutting costs by ~20–30% and freeing budget for additional innovations like steering and custom mechanisms.

12. 12

    Hard lessons from the field: the ‘one loose bolt’ failure and why checklists matter

    Ayush recounts a competition in Turkey where sparks and smoke appeared and a mission was abandoned—ultimately traced to a single loose bolt causing wheel resistance. The story underlines how tiny assembly errors can cascade into major failures and lost rankings.

13. 13

    Drone + rover roles, autonomy on Mars, and the onboard compute stack

    Electronics/software lead Soham explains how drone and rover collaborate: scouting, acting as a comms relay, and preventing costly navigation mistakes. He also breaks down semi-autonomy: operator-approved paths, slow verified execution, and dynamic re-planning using sensors and an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano.

14. 14

    In-house engineering: custom PCBs, motor drivers, and robust electrical architecture

    Soham describes the rover’s power and control design: dual 24V batteries split between compute/arm and drive, microcontrollers on custom PCBs, and motor drivers built by the team. Doing critical electronics in-house improves reliability and avoids common competition-killing issues like reverse polarity failures.

15. 15

    Astrobiology module: drilling, onboard spectrometry, and biosignature detection

    Abhishek explains the rover’s ‘mobile lab’ workflow: drill and store soil, then analyze it on-board using a 3D-printed, low-cost spectrometer. The module aims to detect biosignatures (proteins, sugars, fats) using spectroscopy, ML-driven site selection, and chemistry tests like Benedict’s reagent.

16. 16

    Women in STEM and Anveshak’s long-term vision: building toward real Mars missions

    Adithi shares her path into mechanical engineering, navigating stereotypes with family support, and advises women to pursue what they truly enjoy. She reflects on staying with the team through hardships, preferring hands-on engineering, and sets a bold vision: advancing space tech and ultimately sending a rover to Mars.