Abstract
An essential component of any future human Mars mission is a pressurised, automated vehicle capable of safely and comfortably carrying a small crew of explorers distances on the order of hundreds of kilometers from the landing site. The design of such a vehicle presents many technical questions and challenges. As a practical contribution to the needed design effort, the Mars Society Australia's Project Marsupial aims to construct and operate a practical, affordable, all wheel drive off-road vehicle for simulating exploratory sorties and for raising public awareness of the value of a Mars mission. Basic motivation, design concepts, methodology and established parameters for the Starchaser rover - currently under construction in Western Australia - are described. A three-stage construction plan is then sketched out. Finally, a series of simulated surface operations for the completed vehicle are proposed.