NASA Robots and Rovers At Play In the Desert

Geoffrey.landis writes "Robots and rovers will be running around in the desert in the NASA Desert RATS ('Research and Technology Studies') test in Arizona, including the heavy-lift rover 'All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer,' or ATHLETE. (See videos from newscientist.com). Some NASA robots from an earlier field test of robotic lunar excavators can be seen on video from the NASA page."

Comments

Take a Look at the Tweels

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I was involved in the project designing them, so I have to bring your attention to the wheels, which are adapted from Michelin's Tweel design, using metals rather than rubbers which cannot take the vast temperature ranges seen on the lunar surface. Its a spoke based system that is unique in that it accomplishes a uniform pressure on the contact area without the need for any sort of pressurization or air. And while the wire coil wheels used on the original lunar rover had a service life of weeks, these are intended to last years, so that the Athlete's can just roam around the moon, meeting manned missions at whatever landing site they'll be using.