
Drones, lunar rovers, electric race cars and more were featured last week at the San Diego State University College of Engineering’s Senior Design Day.
More than 80 SDSU teams showcased all their hard work on this special day.
Last year’s event saw a record 2,300 attendees. This year, SDSU invited around 300 local high school students to view the projects and interact with engineering students prior to the event.
Among some of the design teams taking part were:
Team MICE – Team leader: Kiril Yampolsky
Team MICE was tasked with designing a new and improved cubic satellite for mapping ice deposits on Mars. The prototype is a continuation of a NASA project that was scrapped to save time and money. Because trips to Mars are few and far between, Team MICE’s satellite is designed to hitch a ride on a rocket and then propel itself on a 9-month journey to Mars. The team demonstrated the launching mechanism that will help their satellite reach Mars, as well as the satellite’s deployable antennas and solar panels, and the jig that will allow it to take steady photos once it’s in orbit.
Team FISH – Team leader: Sonia Maldonado

Team FISH worked with a nonprofit that supports active lifestyles for disabled veterans and first responders to design a spring-loaded, self-casting and self-retrieving fishing pole for safe and easy fishing. The casting and retrieval mechanism was featured in the team’s demonstration.
San Diego State University provides experiences for its more than 39,000 students. SDSU offers bachelor’s degrees in 95 areas, master’s degrees in 88 fields and 29 doctoral programs, with additional certificates and programs at regional microsites. The school ranks as the number one California State University in federal research support, as one of the top public research universities in California.
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