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Hedgehog Rovers Hop and Tumble In Microgravity

Posted by Soulskill on from the no-word-on-whether-they-chase-dr.-robotnik dept.

New submitter rgreid writes: Prototypes of a new type of rover designed to explore the surface of comets and asteroids have been demonstrated recently by JPL and Stanford. Videos of the rovers in NASA's "vomit comet" show the Hedgehog prototypes performing hopping and tumbling maneuvers in a low-gravity environment. The low gravity and rough terrains found on comets and asteroids make driving with traditional rovers difficult and hazardous— the Hedgehog rovers are specifically designed to overcome these challenges and use the low gravity environment to their advantage. A last-resort "tornado" maneuver shows how the Hedgehogs could leap upwards if they get stuck in a sinkhole. The team's concept was previously covered in 2013; this recent work goes a long way toward demonstrating that Hedgehog rovers could work on a real comet or asteroid.

31 comments

  1. sega by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Read this headline and the first thing I imagined was Sonic spinning around in microgravity. As in, what would the game mechanics be like?

  2. I know a song about hedgehogs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know a song about hedgehogs.

  3. Brilliant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's very clever, using gyroscopic forces to move the thing around.

    1. Re:Brilliant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A reaction wheel on a spacecraft? There were already similarly propelled cubes on youtube

  4. A very nice design, but is it patented? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This seems like a very nice, simple design. I might be tempted to experiment with it, but would like to know if it is patented before hand.

    The wheels spin-up phase would have to be more gradual on a comet than on earth, and the reverse would we true if used on a planet with more gravity than earth. Nevertheless, in our solar system Uranus is next in line and does not seem like an obvious candidate.

    1. Re:A very nice design, but is it patented? by rgreid · · Score: 1

      This design is well-suited for small bodies with low gravity, such as asteroids, comets and moons (up to 1/6th of Earth's gravity). For planets like Earth and Uranus, wheels are likely to be equally efficient.

    2. Re:A very nice design, but is it patented? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uranus, a gas giant?
      Or is the gravity different around your body's orifices (or your Mom's maybe but I'd think the gravity would be higher).
      Now if you think of Saturn's moon Titan, with about 1/10 of Earth's gravity, why not? But the atmosphere is thick (1.6bar, which means 5 times Earth's atmosphere in terms of molecules per volume). And there hydrocarbon lakes/seas, so making the damn thing amphibious would be more interesting.
      Other candidates are small bodies of the solar system, like Mars' satellites, and the satellites of Jupiter (Io may be difficult to deal with between volcanism and strong radiations, Europa you don't want to contaminate) and other gas giants.

    3. Re:A very nice design, but is it patented? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You kiss your own Mother with a mouth like that?

    4. Re:A very nice design, but is it patented? by jimtheowl · · Score: 1

      The fact that it is well suited for low gravity environments is has been well established, but the design may also offers advantages for higher gravity environments given rough terrain.

    5. Re:A very nice design, but is it patented? by jimtheowl · · Score: 1

      A gas giant still has a core. Uranus happens to be next in line in terms of gravity wells in our solar system (I'll leave your Mom out of it).

      The wheels are within a closed system. How much more 'amphibious' do you want to make it?

      Why Europa? You saw a movie? You don't want to contaminate any of these worlds if you can avoid it, Ceres, Enceladus, Rhea.. At least not before they have been studied and believed to be void of life.

    6. Re:A very nice design, but is it patented? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A gas giant still has a core.

      Current models of Uranus give it a large liquid water+methane mantel, which would be above the critical point, so it would be a smooth transition from the atmosphere to the liquid with no well defined surface. Also, depending on the behavior of water & methane under such extreme conditions, if it could form ionic and superionic states, it would smoothly transition to something like a solid.

    7. Re:A very nice design, but is it patented? by jimtheowl · · Score: 1
      Which models are you referring to?

      [citation required]

      What do you mean by 'critical point'?

      What 'extreme conditions' are you talking about?

      "it could form ionic and superionic states"

      If you know what these words mean, could you articulate why you think this is the case?

  5. Republicans are SO ****UNBELIEVABLY**** STUPID ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They actually think that they are Democrats

  6. Re:More disgusting Republican corporate welfare by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

    Yeah a lot of groups and sites I participate in have introduced a new rule recently - any political posts, IN PARTICULAR American political posts will result in an instaban. Tell your story walking.

  7. Microgravity by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

    So what's to stop it flying straight off the comet when it performs the "spin-off" maneuver to get out of a hole?

    1. Re:Microgravity by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

      I don't know, microgravity maybe?

    2. Re:Microgravity by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      what's to stop it flying straight off the comet when it performs the "spin-off" maneuver...

      It generally takes a lot of momentum to leave a typical medium-sized asteroid. The "spin" maneuver is only a last-resort maneuver if a probe gets outright stuck. It may make it "fly" pretty high if it rubs rocks at certain angles, but not enough to leave the asteroid/comet. It would probably be more like Philae's (unintentional) bouncing around. On a smaller body it may put it into orbit, but with some fuel it may be able to land again.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  8. Companion Hog by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gotta roll fast!

  9. Glad to see Philae had some purpose by advocate_one · · Score: 1

    in Philae's failure to stick to the surface and it's subsequent journey into the pit of doom, NASA has seen an inspiration to make the next robot work any way up and be able to move as well...

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
    1. Re:Glad to see Philae had some purpose by necro81 · · Score: 1

      in Philae's failure to stick to the surface and it's subsequent journey into the pit of doom

      Wait, I thought it was the pit of despair.

      [clears throat] Don't even think about trying to escape.

  10. Simps... Japanese did it first. by trout007 · · Score: 1

    The Japanese already flew one. Unfortunately they never got the lander to land.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...

    --
    I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
  11. The real Hedgehog by Muntzsky · · Score: 1

    Ron Jeremy does not approve.

  12. Will they arrive by portal gun? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How else would you put a weighted companion cube on a comet?

  13. Neal Stephenson, the white phone, please by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    Prospectors could deploy large numbers of these to assay asteroids in bulk at low cost.

  14. Re:More disgusting Republican corporate welfare by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    Cheap technology like this can be deployed privately. No need to sit around and wait for the approval of people like you.

  15. Re:Simps... Japanese did it first. by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    That one wasn't cubical, it looked like a solar-powered music drum with spikes. Same general concept, though: tumble-able using fly-wheel(s) for movement.

    Would be funny if they wrote "The Beatles" on it.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  16. disappointing by Cederic · · Score: 1

    For a moment I lived in hope of actual hedgehogs in space.

    That would be awesomely fantastic. A confused little snout wriggling in free-fall.