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

 

Julian
Rothenbuchner

Technical Lead

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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.

Maria João Azeredo

Head of Communications

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Image of member Lucas Cohen

Lucas Cohen

Head of Engineering

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Cristian Ferent

Head of Electrical Engineering

Leonhard Goliasch

Head of People & Operations

James Kingsnorth

Head of Science

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Tolga Ors

Head of Software Engineering

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First Last

Head of Funding

PRODUCT COORDINATION & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

As developing a Mars rover requires a considerable amount of resources and financial support, the business team works hard to guarantee us the necessary funding, acting as a support entity for the other teams. They also work closely with our partners to ensure our collaborations run smoothly.

Supervisor: Julian Rothenbuchner

Cenan Al-Ekabi

Business Development Manager

Marinos Podimatis

Finance Coordinator

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.

Supervisor: Maria João Azeredo

Ainis Alcauskis

Video Editor

Peter Carvalho

Communications Strategist/Social Media

Image of member Amelie Finan

Amelie Finan

Website Lead

Miruna-Diana Lungu

Graphic Designer

Image of member Austin Phillips

Austin Phillips

Multimedia Strategy Lead

Danny Tjokrosetio

Events Representative

PEOPLE AND OPERATIONS (HR)

The People and Operations team makes sure communication within the team runs smoothly. The subteam’s responsibilities include handling the recruiting process from application to onboarding and supporting us with any issues that may arise for members.

Supervisor: Leonhard Goliasch

Jacobus Fourie

PnC Manager

Nikola Lugonja

Advisor

Timon Schnauffer

Coach

Johanna Sturm

Digital Infrastructure Admin

SCIENCE

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.

Supervisor: James Kingsnorth

Mário Balsemão

Mission Scientist – Human Exploration

Leonardo Bonanno

Mission Scientist – Mars Surface Geology

Gergana Bounova

Mission Scientist – Astrobiology

Cristina Maria Moisuc

Mission Scientist

Daan Molhuijsen

Planetary Protection Researcher

Luka Pikulić

Mission Scientist – Interior Geology, Geophysics & Atmospheric Science

Abhimanyu Shanbhag

Mission Scientist

ENGINEERING

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

Rami Amer

Systems Engineer

Guillaume Brault

Lead Rover Engineer

Celestie Gladys

CDH Engineer

Sabin Ilegitim

Structural & Mechatronics Engineer

Alizée Le Goff

Systems Engineer

Image of member Mikhail Maximchuk

Mikhail Maximchuk

Mechanical Engineer

Image of member Nils Neumeister

Nils Neumeister

Project Manager

Arun Osman

Mechanical Engineer

Jakov Ostrouska

EDV Engineer

Ben Placke

Lead Mechanical Engineer

Rohit Roy Chowdhury

Mechatronics & Trajectory Engineer

Simon Schwob

Lead Command and Data Handling Engineer

Thijs van den Heuvel

EDV Engineer

Darius-Andrei Vicovan

Mechatronics & Trajectory Engineer

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: Cristian Ferent and Tolga Ors

Carlos Castro Garcia

Telecommunications Engineer

Tim Holthuijsen

Visual Odometry and Martian Simulation Lead

Abhimanyu Kovithal

Software Engineer

William Moretti

Senior Software Engineer

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