RAVEN (Rover-Aerial Vehicle Exploration Networks) is a new concept that combines rovers and drones to explore landscapes that may otherwise be inaccessible, such as young volcanic terrains on Mars that are too rough for a rover to traverse. The vast, pristine Holuhraun lava field in the highlands of Iceland provides a realistic proving ground for the new technology. Getting the Hamilton team and the required technology to Iceland and establishing a basecamp in the remote region is a challenging logistical exercise—the photos below help illustrate what it’s like on the ground for the RAVEN team.

Everything has been going very well and the rover has now “landed”. 

Basecamp is also set up, as are the power and computer networks, which include 1000 MBS microwave relay and fiber optic system running 25 km between basecamp and the field site and a 100 MBS backhaul from both sites to the outside world and the worldwide web!