Freshmen Lead to Mars Rover Victory | San Jose News

Jesse Deuel, a Missouri S&T grad and key member of the Mars Rover Design Team, just helped his squad win back-to-back University Rover Challenge titles — and he calls it the most stressful, exhilarating experience of his life. The team’s secret? Freshmen lead the design, ensuring knowledge sticks and the team stays strong. They don’t chase the flashiest tech — they obsess over testing. Deuel’s passion? Not stargazing, but logic and electronics, which led him to programming and then building rovers. Their winning rover, Athena, scored a near-perfect 496.57 — while others broke down. Even though these rovers won’t ever touch Mars, the skills they’ve honed are priceless. Now Deuel’s in LA, launching his career at Impulse Space, helping build the future of space travel — one satellite at a time. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/540925bb2c135da8