14 DAY TRIAL // Exploring the Red Planet using standard robots is a fairly tricky task, primarily because of terrain limitations. By definition, rovers are very sensitive pieces of high-tech equipment, and they need to be looked after all the time. But what if a new machine would actually thrive in harsh terrain?
This is a scenario proposed by experts at the North Carolina State University. They say that creating a tumbleweed-like machine could enable NASA to explore the most rugged Martian terrain. Rather than using solar panels or nuclear reactors as a power source, these robots may use wind power.
The basic principle behind this propulsion system is the same as the one tumbleweed on Earth uses to move about. By developing the exploration robot in just the right configuration, it is possible to have it travel across rugged surfaces without even stopping.
NCSU experts developed this idea as part of an effort to aid NASA in developing the best-suited vehicle for space exploration. A huge portion of the Martian landscape is very rugged, and therefore unreachable by other robots.
This was made painfully obvious when the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit became trapped in a path of loose sand called Troy, and was subsequently immobilized and lost. Since then, its twin Opportunity has only traveled safe routes on the other side of the planet.
“There is quite a bit of interest within NASA to pursue the tumbleweed rover design, but one of the questions regarding the concept is how it might perform on the rocky surface of Mars. We set out to address that question,” explains Dr. Andre Mazzoleni.
The expert holds an appointment as an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NCSU. He is also a coauthor on a new paper describing the tumbleweed rover. Mazzoleni conducted the research with adjunct professor Dr. Alexander Hartl.
In their models, the researchers looked at how modifying the diameter and the mass of the tumbleweed-like robot would affect its speed and performances while traveling rocky terrain. Mars displays an average rock density of one rock per square meter.
“We found that, in general, the larger the diameter, and the lower the overall weight, the better the rover performs,” Mazzoleni explains, quoted by Science Blog. Designing such a machine for the Red Planet is made easier by the planet's lower gravitational pull.