Planetary Rover Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Small Solar System bodies such as asteroids, comets and Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos have relatively unknown regolith environments. It is hypothesized that dust preserved in the regolith on the surfaces will have similar mechanical... more

Small Solar System bodies such as asteroids, comets and Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos have relatively unknown regolith environments. It is hypothesized that dust preserved in the regolith on the surfaces will have similar mechanical properties to lunar dust because of similar formation processes from micrometeorite bombardment, low relative gravity for slow settling times, and virtually no weathering because there is no atmosphere. This combination of processes infers that small-body dust particles will be highly angular and retain abrasive properties. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of science instruments that could be utilized by landers and rovers on Small Bodies. The paper uses a specific mission architecture example and engineering design entailing the deployment of “spacecraft/rover hybrids” from a mother spacecraft, which are minimalistic, internally-actuated surface mobility platforms capable of achieving both large surface coverage and fine mobility. Specifically, we first summarize regolith properties are summarized in order to identify technologies that may be useful for exploration in terms of scientific return and spacecraft design. Then, we provide an overview of past, current, and proposed scientific instruments that potentially could be deployed on the aforementioned spacecraft/rover hybrids. Finally, opportunities for instrumentation and hardware payloads are highlighted that include low mass solutions or dual-purpose instruments that can measure regolith or dust properties. Understanding the regolith can help answer many key questions about our solar system’s age, how it was formed, and how we may be able to use its resources to explore further.

The rocker-bogie mobility system is a six-wheeled mobility system with the ability to equilibrate ground pressure amongst its wheels and traverse obstacles up to one wheel diameter in height; it has been used previously on NASA's... more

The rocker-bogie mobility system is a six-wheeled mobility system with the ability to equilibrate ground pressure amongst its wheels and traverse obstacles up to one wheel diameter in height; it has been used previously on NASA's Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. This paper presents the mechanical design of an instrumented rocker-bogie mobility system for Kapvik, a 30 kg planetary micro-rover prototype developed for the Canadian Space Agency. The design of the wheel drive system is presented, including: motor selection, gear train selection, and performance limits. The design of a differential mechanism, which minimizes the pitch angle of the rover body, is provided. Design considerations for the integration of single-axis force sensors above the wheel hubs are presented. Structural analysis of the rocker and bogie links is outlined. The cross-hill and uphill-downhill static stability of Kapvik is investigated. Load cell and joint position data from testing during obstacle negotiation and uphill operation are presented.

Small Solar System bodies such as asteroids, comets and Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos have relatively unknown regolith environments. It is hypothesized that dust preserved in the regolith on the surfaces will have similar mechanical... more

Small Solar System bodies such as asteroids, comets and Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos have relatively unknown regolith environments. It is hypothesized that dust preserved in the regolith on the surfaces will have similar mechanical properties to lunar dust because of similar formation processes from micrometeorite bombardment, low relative gravity for slow settling times, and virtually no weathering because there is no atmosphere. This combination of processes infers that small-body dust particles will be highly angular and retain abrasive properties. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of science instruments that could be utilized by landers and rovers on Small Bodies. The paper uses a specific mission architecture example and engineering design entailing the deployment of “spacecraft/rover hybrids” from a mother spacecraft, which are minimalistic, internally-actuated surface mobility platforms capable of achieving both large surface coverage and fin...