Roving the Red Planet: Justin Gerein on Building Mars-Ready Engineers for Next-Gen Space Tech

Today we’re talking with a founding member of the Canadian International Rover Challenge, Justin Gerein — a hands-on, Mars-style robotics competition held each summer in the badlands of Drumheller, Alberta.

He’s an engineering manager at Calian Composites, a mechanical engineer by training, and a leader in designing high-performance composite systems — including one of the first Q/V band carbon fiber ground station antennas.

We’ll chat about how CIRC is building the next generation of space engineers, the role of collaboration and failure in innovation, and how ProtoSpace is helping teams bring their rover designs to life.