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Microgravity

Tumbleweed Mars logo

TEAM

United under our common goal, Team Tumbleweed brings together members from all across the globe.

Wanting to build a Mars Rover is an ambitious undertaking – but dreaming big is what we do. Over the past years, what started in a small garage has grown into an intercontinental organization of bright and driven people rethinking the current approach to Mars exploration. In technical and organizational projects we work on designing, developing, and improving the next-generation Mars rover and everything around it.

Wanting to build a Mars Rover is an ambitious undertaking.

Especially for a team of young scientists without a head-start in the space industry – but dreaming big is what we do. Over the past years, what started in a small garage has grown into an intercontinental organization bright and driven people rethinking the current approach to Mars exploration. Our interdisciplinary team’s organizational and technical projects work on designing, developing, and improving the next-generation Mars rover and everything around it.

LEADERSHIP

 

James
Kingsnorth

Principal Investigator (PI)

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The Teams

EXECUTIVE

Together with leadership, our executive team is responsible for keeping overhead on the various departments, creating strategies, goals, and structures. Bringing together all the different aspects of working on the Tumbleweed Mission, this team makes sure each project takes us one step further on our Road to Mars.

Ainis Alcauskis

Head of Communications and Production

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Miruna-Diana Lungu

Head of Communications and Branding

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Portrait image of Tolga Ors

Tolga Ors

Head of Software Engineering

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Johanna Sturm

Head of People & Operations

COMMUNICATIONS

As one of the few non-technical subteams, the Communications department is responsible for most of what you see of Team Tumbleweed around the internet. This includes producing content for and running our various social media accounts, as well as the website.

Supervisors: Ainis Alcauskis and Miruna-Diana Lungu

Image of member Amelie Finan

Amelie Finan

Website Lead

Anisa Milena Ingratubun

Content Marketer

Velma Ndombi

Digital Marketer

SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

Science goals lie in the heart of the rationale of any deep space mission. Our science department defines science cases in the areas of atmospheric science, surface geology, interior geology and geophysics, astrobiology, and the preparation of human Mars exploration. The team’s ultimate goal is the delivery of a full mission proposal, including science goals, scientific requirements, and the definition, selection, and design of the required instruments to fulfill the mission’s scientific purposes.

At the same time, Our mechanical and testing engineers are working to design and build a structurally rigid, foldable outer and inner structure for the Tumbleweed rover that is able to support the components from the other technical projects. It is crucial to improve, test, and verify the capabilities of a functional deployment mechanism, taking aerodynamics and possible obstacles into consideration.

Supervisor: James Kingsnorth

Portrait image of Mário Balsemão

Mário Balsemão

Mission Architect

Lia Marta Bernabò

Mission Scientist

Cristina Maria Moisuc

Mission Scientist

Sabin Ilegitim

Structural & Mechatronics Engineer

Moritz Itzerott

Mission Scientist

Luka Pikulić

Mission Scientist

Abhimanyu Shanbhag

Mission Scientist

Thijs van den Heuvel

EDV Engineer

Systems engineering is at the core of any space mission. This project formalizes earlier system engineering efforts by combining European space standards and utilizing Model-Based Systems Engineering approaches prevalent in the industry. Its importance lies in synchronizing all other technical projects and preparing upcoming Earth demonstration missions. Our mechanical and testing engineers are working to design and build a structurally rigid, foldable outer and inner structure for the Tumbleweed rover that is able to support the components from the other technical projects. It is crucial to improve, test, and verify the capabilities of a functional deployment mechanism, taking aerodynamics and possible obstacles into consideration.

Supervisor: Lucas Cohen

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Our Research and Development department works on the various electrical and software engineering challenges posed by a rover traversing the Martian surface at high speeds and in a semi-controlled manner. This includes a space-grade computing architecture, position determination, the electrical power system, and the Transmit and Receive Module for communications.

Supervisors: Tolga Ors

Carlos Castro Garcia

Telecommunications Engineer

Portrait image of Tim Holthuijsen

Tim Holthuijsen

Visual Odometry and Martian Simulation Lead

Abhimanyu Kovithal

Software Engineer

Portrait image of William Moretti

William Moretti

Senior Software Engineer

Alin Josias Thattil

Power Conditioning Engineer

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OUR MEMBERS COME FROM ALL ACROSS THE GLOBE

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