MARA
Mission for Asteroid Resource Acquisition
MARA (Mission for Asteroid Resource Acquisition) is an asteroid mining experiment developed by students of Luleå University of Technology.
The project simulates the material acquisition of an asteroid while investigating the use of core drilling as a method for resource extraction in space-like environments.
The experiment includes producing an autonomous drilling rig as well as a realistic asteroid simulant that can be drilled and extracted within the 120s time constraint of a REXUS sounding rocket mission.
By analysing drilling performance and heat transfer, MARA aims to provide insight into the scalability of future asteroid mining technologies.
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3D Model
The model shows the current design of the MARA experiment
Components
REXUS/BEXUS Programme
MARA is a part of the REXUS/BEXUS programme. The REXUS/BEXUS programme is an initiative of the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).
The programme provides university students all over Europe with the opportunity to design and fly scientific or technological experiments on sounding rockets (REXUS) or stratospheric balloons (BEXUS). Each year, two rockets and two balloons are launched from Esrange Space Center in Sweden and carries up to 20 student experiments.
The Team
MARA consists of 17 students from Luleå University of Technology, divided into 5 teams: Management, Electrical, Mechanical, Science and Software. The team is multidisciplinary, with backgrounds in engineering, physics and computer science. Together we represent a diverse and talented group of individuals dedicated to the success of the MARA project.
Management
Elias Simpson
Project Manager
Pontus Staaf
Systems Engineer
Electrical
Tor Sunnerdahl
Head of Electrical
Julia Bjureus
Electrical Team
Alexander Holmberg
Electrical Team
Mechanical
Liam Rathsman
Head of Mechanical
Celia Ojéda Sanchez
Mechanical Team
Fabian Mozart
Mechanical Team
Science
Blue Bariagaber
Head of Science
Evelina Andersson
Science Team
Manne Sandberg
Science Team
Eliott Billaud
Science Team
Software
John Carlsson
Head of Software
Filip Sowa
Software Team
Imanol Gutiérrez Pinedo
Software Team
Aurora Åhs
Software Team
Clara Öberg
Software Team
Partners & Sponsors
MARA is made possible through the support of our partners and sponsors. We are grateful for their contributions and collaboration in making this project a reality. Click their logo to find out more about them!
Main programme sponsors
Institutional Partners
Hardware Sponsors
