2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge

Live Updates

Last Sunday was our last full team meeting of before summer. After a wonderful banquet and some fond reminiscing about our time on the team this year, we headed down to Central Campus to spend a final afternoon together painting the rock. Here's to a
Last Sunday was our last full team meeting of before summer. After a wonderful banquet and some fond reminiscing about our time on the team this year, we headed down to Central Campus to spend a final afternoon together painting the rock. Here's to all the memories we've made, and to a successful American Solar Challenge this summer! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue
Happy Earth Day from our solar car team! When we race, we're not just racing towards the finish line, but towards a brighter, greener future for our planet. Let's harness the power of the sun to pave the way for sustainable transportation and a clean
Happy Earth Day from our solar car team! When we race, we're not just racing towards the finish line, but towards a brighter, greener future for our planet. Let's harness the power of the sun to pave the way for sustainable transportation and a cleaner environment for all! #HappyEarthDay #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #SolarCar #SolarPower
We had a blast at Springfest 2024 this Sunday. Meeting the attendees, telling people about our work, and listening to the talented student groups that performed made this a wonderful and unique experience. Thanks to @musicmatters_um for putting on th
We had a blast at Springfest 2024 this Sunday. Meeting the attendees, telling people about our work, and listening to the talented student groups that performed made this a wonderful and unique experience. Thanks to @musicmatters_um for putting on this event! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue
Recently Solar Car divisions have hosted multiple internal division design review sessions. During these review sessions new ideas and progress updates are presented to the team and its alumni. CAD software provided by @siemens , crucial to the solar
Recently Solar Car divisions have hosted multiple internal division design review sessions. During these review sessions new ideas and progress updates are presented to the team and its alumni. CAD software provided by @siemens , crucial to the solar car design process, is very important for presentations such as these. Thanks to @siemens we were able to include multiple 3D models to better communicate the progress of the UM solar car and share possible designs for moving forward. #UMichSolarCar #Siemens #GoBlue #SolarCar
We have a confession to make... our solar cars are not powered by the sun, but by the raw power of our team members! Every race, we put our drivers through our rigorous training program in order to allow them to shuffle up to 80mph while inside the v
We have a confession to make... our solar cars are not powered by the sun, but by the raw power of our team members! Every race, we put our drivers through our rigorous training program in order to allow them to shuffle up to 80mph while inside the vehicle and remain competitive with other teams. Our engineers' hard work goes into creating these intensive training regimens and working on our University of Michigan Solar Car Team Advanced Light-Bending Camouflage, which hides our driver's feet from view. Here is an exclusive image from a drive day without our camo, showcasing our driver's legs underneath our car. #AprilFools #SolarCarSecrets #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue
Thanks to @featherlitetrailers, we are able to transport our car to events like our recent visit with Wartech Engineering . We can always count on our trailer to keep our car safe and protected while we're out and about! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #Feat
Thanks to @featherlitetrailers, we are able to transport our car to events like our recent visit with Wartech Engineering . We can always count on our trailer to keep our car safe and protected while we're out and about! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #FeatherliteTrailers
We were so excited to get the opportunity to visit one of our sponsors, Wartech Engineering and show them our car, talk to owner and team alum Andrew Warner, as well as meet their resident dogs! Wartech manufactured the hubs for our wheels, rear sus
We were so excited to get the opportunity to visit one of our sponsors, Wartech Engineering and show them our car, talk to owner and team alum Andrew Warner, as well as meet their resident dogs! Wartech manufactured the hubs for our wheels, rear suspension, and steering arm, as well as providing crucial mentorship for the engineers on our team. We are proud to partner with them and had a wonderful time talking to their members during our meeting. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #WartechEngineering #SolarCar
Thank YOU for your support on Giving Blue Day last week. With donations from our amazing supporters, we raised over $3k towards our race in the American Solar Challenge this summer. Go blue! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #GivingBlueDay
Thank YOU for your support on Giving Blue Day last week. With donations from our amazing supporters, we raised over $3k towards our race in the American Solar Challenge this summer. Go blue! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #GivingBlueDay
Last Sunday was our last full team meeting of before summer. After a wonderful banquet and some fond reminiscing about our time on the team this year, we headed down to Central Campus to spend a final afternoon together painting the rock. Here's to a Happy Earth Day from our solar car team! When we race, we're not just racing towards the finish line, but towards a brighter, greener future for our planet. Let's harness the power of the sun to pave the way for sustainable transportation and a clean We had a blast at Springfest 2024 this Sunday. Meeting the attendees, telling people about our work, and listening to the talented student groups that performed made this a wonderful and unique experience. Thanks to @musicmatters_um for putting on th Recently Solar Car divisions have hosted multiple internal division design review sessions. During these review sessions new ideas and progress updates are presented to the team and its alumni. CAD software provided by @siemens , crucial to the solar We have a confession to make... our solar cars are not powered by the sun, but by the raw power of our team members! Every race, we put our drivers through our rigorous training program in order to allow them to shuffle up to 80mph while inside the v Thanks to @featherlitetrailers, we are able to transport our car to events like our recent visit with Wartech Engineering . We can always count on our trailer to keep our car safe and protected while we're out and about! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #Feat We were so excited to get the opportunity to visit one of our sponsors, Wartech Engineering and show them our car, talk to owner and team alum Andrew Warner, as well as meet their resident dogs! Wartech manufactured the hubs for our wheels, rear sus Thank YOU for your support on Giving Blue Day last week. With donations from our amazing supporters, we raised over $3k towards our race in the American Solar Challenge this summer. Go blue! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #GivingBlueDay

Previous Updates

The Final Stretch

Day 5 started at the crack of dawn as usual, and in great spirits. That morning and the night before, we had amazing charging conditions for our solar array. The sky was clear and blue for the first time since leaving Darwin, after seeing continuous bushfire haze and clouds along the entire route. We were excited to see that our battery was charging much more than expected. 

By 8:03 am, we packed everything up, said goodbye to our last Outback camping location, and got back on the road. We started the drive at faster speeds than we’d driven before—at around 100 kph. The goal was to use all our power by the time we crossed the finish line, so we remained at high speeds for the remainder of the day.

As Astrum left the Port Augusta control stop, we passed Team Sonnenwagen Aachen, the 5th place team at the time, as they arrived. Unbeknownst to us, their car, Covestro Adelie, would be blown off the road and roll over just outside of Port Augusta, moments after leaving the control stop. Luckily, no one was injured and their car was still able to drive, but the regulations state that cars that roll over are disqualified. It was heartbreaking to hear the news, especially since they were so close to the finish line.

Looking back, it’s understandable why a team got… READ MORE

Featured
Going Fast, Going Smooth
Day 4
Going Fast, Going Smooth
Day 4
Read More →
Day 4
The Halfway Point
Day 3
The Halfway Point
Day 3
Read More →
Day 3
Slow and Steady
Day 2
Slow and Steady
Day 2
Read More →
Day 2
The Comeback of a Century
Day 1
The Comeback of a Century
Day 1
Read More →
Day 1
Off to a Rocky Start
Dynamic Scrutineering
Off to a Rocky Start
Dynamic Scrutineering
Read More →
Dynamic Scrutineering
Scrutineering for Success
Static Scrutineering
Scrutineering for Success
Static Scrutineering
Read More →
Static Scrutineering

Control Stops

Darwin State Square

Time in:

Time out: Oct22 08:42

Katherine Transport Weighbridge

Time in: Oct22 16:55:12

Time out: Oct23 08:25

Dunmarra Wayside Inn

Time in: Oct23 12:35:53

Time out:Oct23 13:05:53

Tennant Creek Weighbridge

Time in:Oct23 15:34:28

Time out:Oct23 16:04:28

Barrow Creek Hotel

Time in: Oct26 09:55:17

Time out:

Alice Springs Traeger Park 

Time in: Oct24 10:19:36

Time out:Oct24 10:49:36

Erldunda Roadhouse

Time in: Oct24 13:24

Time out: Oct24 13:54

Coober Pedy Oval

Time in: Oct25 11:20:43

Time out: Oct25 11:50:43

Glendambo Outback Resort

Time in: Oct25 13:04

Time out: Oct25 13:34

Time in: Oct22 12:43

Time out: Oct22 13:13

Port Augusta Central Opal

Time in:

Time out:

Adelaide Victoria Square

Our Car

Astrum is the University of Michigan Solar Car Team’s 17th car. With over hundreds of thousands of hours poured into her design and manufacturing, she is our fastest car yet. Her maximum speed is 130 kph (80mph), consumes about half the power of a toaster oven, and has the same amount of drag as a typical side view mirror.

The Challenge

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is the World’s toughest and most prestigious solar car event, providing various teams the opportunity to design and build a vehicle that will travel along a 3,000 kilometer route across the Australian Outback, powered only by the energy of the sun.

Meet the 21 students who manufactured and are racing Astrum.

More ways to stay updated!

Check out our photo gallery showing where we’ve been and how we got here.

Read more about our journey and see our features in the media.